Trump repeats claim that India promised to cut Russian oil imports; Congress hits out at Modi

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed that India would not "buy much oil from Russia", marking the fourth time he commented in less than one week.

Trump said that he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. "We talked about a lot of things, but mostly the world of trade," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "He's not going to buy much oil from Russia. He wants to see that war end as much as I do," he added.

Following the repeated incidents of Trump's claims, the Congress responded with criticism towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that what he conceals, "Trump reveals". 

Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, "The PM has finally acknowledged publicly that President Trump called him up and that the two spoke to each other. But all that the PM has said is that the US President extended Diwali greetings. But while Mr Modi conceals, Mr Trump reveals."

"On his part, the US President has said that in addition to extending Diwali greetings, he spoke of India's oil imports from Russia and that he had been assured that these imports will be stopped. This is the 4th time in 6 days that the US President has announced India's policy," Ramesh said on X.

Earlier, Trump had claimed that India had agreed to cut back on oil purchases from Russia. While India clarified that it is "broad-basing and diversifying" its sourcing of energy to meet market conditions and added that it prioritised "the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario", the US President continued to reiterate his claims.
(Using PTI and Reuters inputs)