By Admin 
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday (October 21) questioned the Central Government as to why US President Donald Trump is repeatedly saying that he has talked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about buying oil from Russia.
Jairam Ramesh said that Trump has repeated this claim three times in the last five days and this number may increase as he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest this week. He said that Trump is saying that he spoke to Modi and India promised to stop buying oil from Russia, while the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has rejected this.
Trump warned India
Trump had also said on Monday that if India continues to buy oil from Russia, heavy tariffs will continue to be imposed on it. He told the media, “I spoke to Prime Minister Modi and he said that he will not buy Russian oil. But if he says so, he will continue to buy, then he will continue to pay heavy tariffs.”
Foreign Ministry had already refused the phone call
The Ministry of External Affairs had already clarified that there was no recent phone call between Modi and Trump on October 15. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the two leaders had spoken over phone only on October 9, in which Modi congratulated Trump on the success of the Gaza peace plan and reviewed trade talks. Jaiswal also said that India’s stance on energy policy is based on national interests and safety of citizens.
Trump’s statement is being seen in the context of pressure from Western countries to reduce energy relations with Russia after the Ukraine crisis. India has said that its energy purchases are made keeping in mind the national interest and the safety of Indian consumers.
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