US President Donald Trump on Monday announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to stop buying oil from Russia and buy much more oil from the US, and possibly also from Venezuela.
Ever since Donald Trump came to power for the second time, Russian oil has been a point of contention between India and the US. The Trump administration has been claiming that India’s purchases of oil from Russia at concessional rates were being used to prop up Russia’s war machinery in Europe against Ukraine.
Trump wrote in his social media post, “I had a great time speaking to Prime Minister Modi of India this morning. He is one of my best friends, and a powerful and respected leader of his country. We talked about many things, including trade, and ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to buy much more oil from the United States and, perhaps, Venezuela. This will help end the ongoing war in Ukraine, in which thousands of people are dying every week.” “Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi, and at his request, we agreed to a trade deal between the United States and India under which the United States will impose a lower reciprocal tariff, reducing it from 25% to 18%.”
‘Prime Minister Modi and I are two people who…’
The US President further wrote, “They will also reduce their tariff and non-tariff barriers against the United States to zero. The Prime Minister also committed to “Buy American” on a very large level, including more than $500 billion of American energy, technology, agriculture, coal, and many other products. Our wonderful relationship with India will be even stronger in the future. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people who get things done, which are more important than most people’s expectations. Can’t say no. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”