Prime Minister Modi Confirms Call with Trump on X
Trump Reveals Details to Reporters at Diwali Celebration
"Modi Also Wants the Ukraine War to End as Much as I Do"
U.S. President Donald Trump (right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are embracing during a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden after concluding a summit in February. Washington DC, USA - Photo by AP
U.S. President Donald Trump has once again claimed, following last week, that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him during a phone call that India would reduce its imports of Russian crude oil. Modi has now confirmed that he spoke with President Trump. Unlike last week, when the Indian government immediately denied that any such call had taken place between the Prime Minister and President Trump, this time the Prime Minister's Office directly confirmed the phone conversation.
On the 21st (local time), Prime Minister Modi officially confirmed the call with President Trump by posting on the social networking service X (formerly Twitter), "Thank you to President Trump for his call and warm Diwali greetings." However, according to Reuters, he did not mention any specific details of the conversation.
During a Diwali celebration event for Indian Hindus held at the White House, President Trump told reporters, "We discussed many things during our call on the 21st, but most of it was about global trade," adding, "He (Prime Minister Modi) is not going to buy a lot of Russian oil." He continued, "He also wants the (Ukraine) war to end as much as I do. They (India) are not going to buy too much oil from Russia."
These remarks follow President Trump's previous statement on the 15th that he had spoken with Prime Minister Modi and that Modi had assured him that India would stop importing Russian crude oil. In contrast, at that time, India's Ministry of External Affairs stated that there had been no phone call between the two leaders on the 15th, indirectly signaling that India intended to continue importing Russian oil.
India's imports of Russian crude oil have become a major obstacle in trade negotiations between the United States and India that began in February of this year. Since Russia, a traditional ally of India, invaded Ukraine in 2022 and launched the war, India has been importing large quantities of Russian oil at low prices due to Western sanctions restricting Russia's export channels.
The Trump administration has viewed India's actions as providing financial support for Russia's war effort and, since the end of August, has imposed a total of 50% reciprocal tariffs-including an additional 25% punitive tariff-on most Indian exports.
The United States is making similar demands of its allies worldwide, increasing the level of economic sanctions against Russia. On the 15th, it was reported that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, during a meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, requested that Japan halt its imports of Russian energy.
At that time, Secretary Besant stated on his X account, "We discussed ways to advance Japan's strategic investment plans in the United States," and added, "We also discussed current issues in U.S.-Japan economic relations and the U.S. administration's hope that Japan will stop importing Russian energy."
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