US President Donald Trump has once again taken a tough stance on India and said that if India continues to import crude oil from Russia, it will have to pay heavy import tariffs. Trump gave this statement while talking to journalists in his plane Air Force One. He said, ‘I spoke to Prime Minister Modi. He said that India will not buy Russian oil. If they do not do so, they will have to pay heavy tariffs.

The Trump administration believes that the countries buying oil from Russia are indirectly providing financial support to the Ukraine war, that is why America is continuously putting pressure on the countries buying energy from Russia. In the past months, America had requested many countries including India to reduce or stop Russian oil imports.

India has rejected Trump’s claim

Trump has already claimed that PM Modi has assured him that India will no longer buy oil from Russia. However, Trump’s claim has been rejected by the Indian Foreign Ministry. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said that the aim of India’s energy policy is to protect the interests of its consumers. He said that India is a responsible energy importer. We take our decisions independently so that prices remain stable and supply remains diverse. India reiterated that its priority is to maintain economic balance and meet domestic needs and not to come under any political pressure.

Trump’s tariffs affected India

The Trump administration had increased the import duty on many Indian products earlier this year. This includes clothes, medicines and agricultural products. Indian industry organizations say that this policy has had a negative impact on exports. If a new tariff is imposed on the issue of Russian oil, India-US trade relations may sour.

Controversy over Modi-Trump conversation

Trump claimed in his statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised him not to buy Russian oil. Although the Indian government has clarified that there is no official record of any such conversation, when journalists raised questions on this, Trump said that if they did not agree, they would have to pay heavy tariffs.

India’s energy strategy

India is the third largest oil importer in the world. New Delhi says its goal is to maintain affordable, sustainable and diverse energy supply. India currently buys oil from Saudi Arabia, America, Russia and United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, a senior official of the Energy Ministry said that oil from Russia is proving to be the cheapest deal economically, hence India considers it a part of its energy security strategy.

Also read: Trump On Zelensky: ‘If Putin wants, he will destroy Ukraine’, Trump gets angry at Zelensky in the White House; heated debate again