While India rejected Trump’s repeated claims that he brokered a ceasefire between the two countries, Pakistan credited the US president for ending the hostilities between the two countries.
To another question on if India will be willing to really shove off its purchases of Russian oil for a trade deal with the US, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said New Delhi has already expressed an interest in diversifying its oil portfolio.
“If they diversified their portfolio, the more they buy it from us, the more they’ll buy it from someone else. But I wouldn’t prejudge or – I’m not negotiating trade deals. So I’m not going to speak on that,” he said. “But I know they’ve (India) already expressed a desire to diversify their oil portfolio, even before all of this came up. So, obviously the more we sell them, the less they’ll buy from someone else. And, but, we’ll see where we wind up on all that,” he said.
Last week, the US sanctioned two Russian oil exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil, a move that is expected to discourage Indian refiners to procure Russian crude oil. Rubio, responding to a question on the latest US action in the context of India, said both sides have “broader trade issues”. They (India) will always be our allies and friends, he said.
New Delhi’s continuing procurement of Russian crude oil has been a major issue in the India-US ties. The relations between New Delhi and Washington have been reeling under severe strain after Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, including a 25 per cent levies for New Delhi’s procurement of Russian oil. India described the US action as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
In the couple of weeks, Trump claimed PM Modi told him India will stop buying Russian crude oil. India suggested there was no such conversation. Last week, Trump dialled Modi and extended Diwali greetings.
