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‘Our top priority is...’: India's first remark on Trump's claim of stopping Russian oil purchase
Following the announcement of the India-US trade deal, Trump claimed that India will stop buying Russian oil and invest in Venezuelan oil instead.
Amid US President Donald Trump's claim that India has agreed to stop buying Russian oil, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday has stated that India will continue to keep its 1.4 billion population as a top priority, especially in the current international dynamics in the energy section.
“In so far as India's energy security or sourcing is confirmed, the government has publicly on several occasions, including me here, that that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion is the supreme priority of the government,” said Randhir Jaiswal during a press conference.
“Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India's decisions are taken and will be taken with this in mind,” he added further.
Trump claims India agreed to stop buying Russian oil
Following the announcement of the India-US trade deal, Trump claimed that India will stop buying Russian oil and invest in Venezuelan oil instead.
“We spoke about many this including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social post earlier this week.
The deal was later confirmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, no comment was made on halting the purchase of Russian oil.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Jaiswal added that India remains open to the purchase of Venezuelan oil.
“India's stand is clear. We have long-standing partnership with Venezuela. And we remain open to buying oil from Venezuela or other places depending on its commercial viability,” said Jaiswal.
Russia says ‘no word’ from India over halting oil purchase
Reacting to the India-US trade deal announcement, Russia also stated that it was yet to hear from New Delhi regarding this development.
“So far, we haven't heard any statements from New Delhi on this matter,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing.
"We respect bilateral US-Indian relations. But we attach no less importance to the development of an advanced strategic partnership between Russia and India. This is the most important thing for us, and we intend to further develop our bilateral relations with Delhi," he added further.
India-US trade deal in final stages
The bilateral trade deal between India and the United States was announced on Monday time. The deal, announced by Trump and later confirmed by PM Modi, resulted in the lowering of tariffs against Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Union commerce ministry Piyush Goyal stated that the final agreement between the two countries is in the final stages. This sentiment was echoed by US trade representative Jamieson Greer, who stated that the deal is “still being papered.” A joint statement with the details of the trade deal is expected to be shared later.
