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‘We know India has...’: White House backs Trump’s claim on Russian oil imports
India and China are reducing Russian oil purchases at Donald Trump's request amid new US sanctions, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday (local time) claimed that India, along with China, has begun scaling back purchases of Russian oil at the request of US President Donald Trump, as Washington rolled out a fresh round of sanctions against Moscow’s two largest oil companies.
"If you read the sanctions and look at them, they're pretty hefty. I saw some international news this morning that China is scaling back oil purchases from Russia. We know India has done the same at the president's request. The president has also pushed European countries, our allies, to stop buying Russian oil. So it's a full-court press for sure. We expect that these sanctions are going to harm, as the Secretary of the Treasury said yesterday," she said.
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Her remarks came a day after President Trump reiterated that India has assured him it will “stop” buying oil from Russia and would bring the imports “down to almost nothing” by the end of this year.
“India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop [buying Russian oil]... It’s a process. You can’t just stop... By the end of the year, they’ll be down to almost nothing, almost 40% of the oil. India, they’ve been great. Spoke to Prime Minister Modi yesterday. They’ve been absolutely great,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
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‘Appropriate and necessary’ sanctions
Defending the new sanctions imposed on Rosneft and Lukoil, Leavitt said they were “appropriate and necessary”, reflecting the administration’s growing frustration over the lack of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
“The president has always maintained that he would implement sanctions on Russia when he felt it was appropriate and necessary. And yesterday was that day,” she said.
While clarifying that a potential meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was “not completely off the table", Leavitt said the White House wants to ensure “a tangible positive outcome” from any such engagement.
“The president wants to see action, not just talk. He’s been extremely motivated by the success of his Middle East peace deal and wants this war to end,” she added.
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Moscow calls sanctions ‘unfriendly’
Russia, however, dismissed the US sanctions as an “unfriendly move". President Vladimir Putin said the restrictions would have “little effect” on Russia’s economy, adding, “No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure.”
Putin also accused Washington of using sanctions as a political weapon, saying such tactics would fail. “Certain people in the US administration have pushed for restrictions on Russian oil exports — one wonders whose interests they’re truly working for,” he said, according to Russia Today.
Trade tensions with India
Ties between New Delhi and Washington remain tense following Trump’s move to double tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent, including an additional 25 per cent duty linked to India’s continued imports of Russian crude. India has termed the US decision “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".
(With inputs from agencies)
