Trump claims Modi assured him India will stop buying Russian oil
calls it 'big step' toward ending Ukraine war
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Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump has claimed that his "friend" Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia, a move he described as a “big step” toward increasing pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters at his Oval Office on Wednesday, he said the US was “not happy” that India was buying Russian crude, arguing such purchases helped finance President Vladimir Putin’s war.
“He (Modi) is a friend of mine, we have a great relationship... we were not happy with him buying oil from Russia because that let Russia continue on with this ridiculous war where they've lost a million and a half people,” Trump said in response to a question.
“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big step. Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” he said.
India is the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Describing the Indian prime minister as “a great man,” Trump said, “He loves Trump... I don’t want you to take the word love any differently... I don’t want to destroy his political career.”
Praising Modi's leadership, Trump said, “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, and he’s assured me there will be no oil purchases from Russia.”
He added that the phase-out would take time but that it was already underway.
“He (Modi) has assured me there will be no oil purchased from Russia. I don’t know, maybe that’s a breaking story. Can I say that?... He’s not buying his oil from Russia. It (has) started. He can't do it immediately; it’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon,” Trump claimed.
He said India could resume energy trade with Moscow after the Russia-Ukraine war is over.
“If India doesn’t buy oil, it makes it much easier, and they’re not going to buy, they assured me they will, within a short period of time, they will not be buying oil from Russia... And they’ll go back to Russia after the war is over,” he said.
Traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern oil, India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, significantly increased its imports from Russia following the February 2022 Ukraine invasion.
Western sanctions and reduced European demand made Russian oil available at steep discounts. As a result, India's Russian crude imports surged from under 1 per cent to nearly 40 per cent of its total crude oil imports in a short span.
New Delhi has been maintaining that its oil imports are driven by national energy security and affordability concerns and that its position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains “independent and balanced”.
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Sensex, Nifty tumble as Budget proposes to raise Securities Transaction Tax to 0.05 pc on commodity
Mumbai (PTI): Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled on Sunday afternoon trade after the Budget proposed to raise Securities Transaction Tax to 0.05 per cent on commodity futures from 0.02 per cent.
The government will tax buyback proceeds for all types of shareholders as capital gains, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday.
After fluctuating in early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex later bounced back but pared all gains amid the Budget presentation.
It later plunged 2,370.36 points, or 2.88 per cent, to slip below the 80,000-mark to 79,899.42 during the afternoon trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 748.9 points, or 2.95 per cent, to 24,571.75.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics tanked 6.50 per cent. State Bank of India, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, and Eternal were also among the laggards.
Sun Pharma, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Tata Consultancy Services were the gainers.
"The increase in Securities Transaction Tax (STT), especially in futures and options, is likely to act as a marginal negative for foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows in the near term, particularly for high-frequency and derivative-focused global funds," Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking, said.
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,251.37 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Asian markets are closed on Sunday due to holidays. US markets ended lower on Friday.
On Friday, the Sensex declined 296.59 points, or 0.36 per cent, to settle at 82,269.78. The Nifty dropped 98.25 points, or 0.39 per cent, to end at 25,320.65.
