India assures White House it will stop buying Russian oil, Trump says
Editor's note: The story was updated with additional details.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured U.S. President Donald Trump that India will no longer buy Russian oil, the U.S. leader said on Oct. 15.
"So I was not happy that India was buying oil, and (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That's a big step. Now we're going to get China to do the same thing," Trump said in the White House.
Washington previously imposed 50% tariffs on India for its continued import of Russian oil, after Trump threatened to impose secondary sanctions on Russia's trading partners if Moscow failed to make progress towards peace in Ukraine.
India will only "go back to Russia after the war's over," Trump told reporters. India's decision will help the U.S. broker a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, Trump claimed, while acknowledging that working out a peace settlement has proven difficult.
"But if India doesn't buy oil, it makes it much easier," he said.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said he is not aware of the conversation.
"To the best of our knowledge, I am not aware of any conversation between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump yesterday," Jaiswal said during a press briefing on Oct. 16.
Jaiswal also said in a statement earlier in the day that India's import policies are guided by the "interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario."
"The current (U.S.) administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing."
Trump said that the process for India to stop flows of Russian oil will take time, but will be over shortly.
"There will be no oil, (Modi's) not buying his oil from Russia, it started — you know, you can't do it immediately, it’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon," Trump said.
The president also emphasized his "great relationship" with Modi, who he called "a great man" who "loves Trump."
"(Modi is) a friend of mine, we have a great relationship … we have a great relationship — no, we were not happy with him buying oil from Russia because that let Russia continue on with this ridiculous war, where they've lost a million and a half people," Trump said.
Trump did not provide a timeline for when India would supposedly cease importing from Russia.
Some Indian refiners are already preparing to gradually cut Russian oil imports, Reuters reported on Oct. 16, citing three undisclosed sources.
The news agency reported the following day that India had reduced its purchases of Russian oil by half, according to an undisclosed White House official.
As Indian refiners already placed orders for November, any cuts would be visible only in December or January, Indian industry sources told Reuters, adding that New Delhi has not informed refiners of any import reductions.
In the past, India said that it would not reduce its imports of Russian oil, despite facing heavy U.S. tariffs.
Bloomberg reported on Sept. 25 that Indian officials told the White House that New Delhi may curb Russian oil imports if trade is offset through the purchase of sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan oil.
India is one of the major buyers of Russian fuel. The country accounted for 38% of Russian crude exports and 19% of Russia's coal exports in the period from December 2022 until the end of June 2025, according to the Center for Research on Clean Energy and Clean Air.
As the Kremlin refuses to engage in diplomatic means to cease hostilities, Kyiv and its allies have sought to reduce Russia's oil revenues, which directly fund its war against Ukraine.
