President Donald Trump has said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to halt his country’s purchase of Russian crude oil, a move that could have a significant impact on Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Shift Would Happen ‘Within A Short Period of Time’
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Trump said, “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 called this a “big step” in the administration’s efforts to curtail funding for Russia’s war against Ukraine, while adding that the shift would happen “within a short period of time.” He said, “Now we got to get China to do the same thing,” according to a report by The Hill,
In August, Trump doubled tariffs against imports from India to 50%, citing the country’s continued purchase of Russian crude oil, with the move intended to “more effectively deal with the national emergency” declared over Russian aggression and its global economic support network.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the administration decided to penalize India, and not China, despite both countries buying Russian oil, because of New Delhi’s “arbitrage,” which involved buying cheap oil, before refining and reselling it, which he called “unacceptable.”
India’s Ministry of External Affairs did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for a comment on this matter. This story will be updated as soon as we receive a response.
Trump Asks Putin To ‘Stop This’ War
While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump also addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin and said, “stop this, stop killing Ukrainians and stop killing Russians.”
Trump added that the war doesn’t make Putin look good, “it’s a war that he should have won in one week, and he’s now going into his fourth year,” he said.
In a Truth Social post earlier in the day, Trump touted his track record as the “President of Peace,” citing a string of conflicts he claims to have ended in recent months, including last week's peace deal that brought an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. Notably, he also claimed to have contributed to the resolution of the India-Pakistan conflict earlier this year.
With that done, Trump seeks to add the protracted conflict between Russia and Ukraine to his list of diplomatic victories since returning to office.
Crude oil futures are up 0.79% on Wednesday night, following Trump’s claim that India would stop buying Russian oil. The iShares Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (BATS: IEO), which primarily invests in pure-play energy producers, is up 0.63% after hours.
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