India will no longer purchase Russian oil, according to President Donald Trump, a major victory in his effort to pressure Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and [Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi] assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. “That’s a big step.”
A spokesperson for the Indian embassy did not immediately reply to requests for confirmation but, if true, it would amount to a major deescalation of U.S.-India tensions that surfaced this summer after the U.S. slapped 50 percent tariffs on the country because of its purchases of Russian oil.
It also comes ahead of a possible meeting between Trump and Modi at a summit of Southeast Asian countries in Malaysia this month.
