- By Nidhi Giri
- Mon, 20 Oct 2025 08:23 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
United States President Donald Trump has reignited pressure on India, warning of "massive" tariffs if New Delhi continues importing oil from Russia. Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally promised to halt such purchases, stating that if India does not follow through "they’ll keep paying".
"PM Modi told me, 'I'm not going to be doing the Russian oil thing.’ But if they keep doing it, they’ll be paying massive tariffs," Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump snapped when asked about the Indian government’s denial of recent talks between him and PM Modi. "But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that," Trump said.
Last week, Trump said that PM Modi has pledged to stop buying oil from Russia.
“So I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump told reporters during a White House event. "That’s a big step. Now we’re going to get China to do the same thing," he added. "He can't do it immediately. It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon," Trump claimed at the Oval Office.
MEA Clarifies On Call Between PM Modi And Trump
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however, has clarified that there was no phone call or conversation between PM Modi and US President Donald Trump, following remarks by Trump regarding India’s purchase of Russian oil. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasised that he was “not aware of any conversation yesterday between the two leaders,” addressing speculation over whether the Indian Prime Minister had discussed the sensitive issue with the US President.