Washington: US President Donald Trump on Thursday praised India for its stance on reducing oil imports from Russia, saying New Delhi has been “very good” in addressing Washington’s concerns over Moscow’s energy trade.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, Trump said, “Xi has been buying oil from Russia for a long time. It takes care of a big part of China. And, you know, I can say India’s been very good on that front. But we didn’t really discuss the oil. We discussed working together to see if we could get that war finished.”
Trump reiterated that India had assured his administration of significantly reducing energy imports from Russia. Last week, he claimed that New Delhi would bring its purchases down to “almost nothing” by the end of the year.
Responding to these remarks, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that safeguarding consumer interests remains a top priority in a volatile global energy market. “Our import policies are guided by the objective of ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies. This includes broad-basing and diversifying our energy sourcing as appropriate to meet market conditions,” the MEA had stated earlier.
The ministry also noted that India has been steadily expanding energy cooperation with the United States over the past decade, with ongoing discussions aimed at deepening strategic energy ties between the two nations.
