The Indian foreign ministry has denied claims that prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump had a call in which New Delhi agreed to stop the import of Russian oil, once again signalling its reluctance to give in to pressure to reduce economic cooperation with Moscow.
In a weekly briefing of the Indian foreign ministry, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal denied that any conversation took place between the two leaders on the topic while refraining from making further comments.
“I can say, to the best of my knowledge, that there was no conversation between prime minister Modi and president Trump yesterday,” Mr Jaiswal said on Thursday as he fielded multiple questions on Mr Trump’s claims.
It was the Indian government’s second response after Mr Trump said Mr Modi “assured me today” that he will not purchase Russian oil, calling it a “big step”.
“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House, referring to Mr Modi. “That’s a big step. Now I’ve got to get China to do the same thing.”
Mr Trump added that India could not "immediately" halt shipments, calling it "a little bit of a process, but that process will be over soon".
The Indian government appeared to dismiss the assertions and said discussions were still “ongoing’ with the US over its Russian oil purchases.
It said the “current US administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India” and talks are ongoing.
It added that India’s policy remains guided by efforts to “safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario” given its huge reliance on import of oil and gas.
Russia on Thursday said it was confident of its energy partnership with India, saying it would continue.
"We continue to cooperate with our friendly partners," deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said, referring to India.
"Our energy resource is in demand, it's economically advantageous and practical, and I'm confident that our partners will continue to work with us, interact, and develop energy cooperation."
Under pressure from Western allies to reduce its reliance on Russian energy, India has tried to walk the diplomatic tightrope while maintaining its longstanding and historic ties with Russia.
Russia has been India’s largest defence supplier for decades, providing fighter jets, helicopters, submarines, and missile systems while energy ties have flourished since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
India’s continued purchases of Russian crude oil shunned by Europe at steeply discounted prices, have caused distress between India-US relations under the Trump administration.
The Trump administration imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports of Indian goods, as a punishment for its import of Russian energy, taking the total levies to 50 per cent, one of the highest imposed on any country.
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