- US President Trump claims PM Modi assured him India will soon stop buying Russian oil
- He made bizarre remarks while clarifying his statement at one point
- He said he does not want to destroy PM Modi’s political career after clarifying his ‘he loves Trump’ remark
US President Donald Trump has claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured Washington that New Delhi will stop buying oil from Russia soon, in what he believes would bring peace to war-torn Ukraine. Speaking at the White House, Trump praised PM Modi as a "great man" and a time-tested leader. He went on and made some bizarre remarks as he felt the need to clarify himself at one point.
"Modi is a great man. He loves Trump," he said, quickly clarifying, "I don't want you to take the word "love" any differently. I don't want to destroy his political career."
He called India an "incredible country" and PM Modi a leader who has stood the test of time. "I have watched India for years. It's an incredible country, and every single year you would have a new leader. Some would be in there for a few months, and this was year after year after year, and my friend has been there now for a long time," said Trump.
Read: Donald Trump Claims India Will Stop Buying Russian Oil. What Numbers Say
The praise marks the improved relations between the two nations briefly driven apart by heavy tariffs imposed by Washington. Donald Trump had earlier accused India of funding the Russian war machine in Ukraine and thwarting his peacemaking efforts.
Sharing what he called a "breaking headline", he said today that the Prime Minister has assured him that India will stop buying oil from Russia. "He's assured me there will be no oil purchases from Russia. He can't do it immediately. It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon," he said.
New Delhi is yet to comment on this.
Russia has been fighting Ukraine since 2022. Russia should have won it in a week; it doesn't make them look good, Trump remarked, claiming that he once thought he had a deal. The hatred between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy is an obstacle to peace, he acknowledged, but suggested it will be easier to end the war if India stops buying oil from Russia.
"If India doesn't buy oil, it makes it much easier, and they assured me that within a short period of time, they will not be buying oil from Russia. They will go back to Russia after the war is over," said the US President.
