Hours after US President Donald Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that New Delhi would stop purchasing Russian oil, the Ministry of External Affairs clarified that no conversation between the two leaders took place yesterday.
The Ministry iterated that its energy sourcing policy remains consistently focused on safeguarding the interests of Indian consumers amid a volatile global energy landscape.
“As per my information, there was no telephonic conversation between PM Modi and US President Trump yesterday,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said while responding to a media query during his weekly briefing on Thursday.
The last phone conversation between Modi and Trump was on October 9, he said.
The clarification came after Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, claimed that Prime Minister Modi had assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil.
“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big step,” Trump said. “Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” the US President said.
“India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective,” Jaiswal said in a statement earlier on Thursday. He also pointed out that India is also expanding its energy export from the US.
“Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current Administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing,” Jaiswal said.
He further outlined India’s broader energy approach, noting that stable prices and secure supplies remain the twin goals of its policy. This includes diversifying sources of supply and adapting to changing market conditions.
India has increased its oil imports from Russia over the past two years, citing competitive pricing amid global volatility. The government has repeatedly said that these decisions are based on economic considerations rather than political pressure.
Trump administration had imposed 50 per cent tariff on key Indian imports, including 25per additional penalty linked to Russian oil purchases.