'Spoke to PM Modi...': Trump claims India will stop buying Russian oil by year-end

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump repeated his claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that India would stop purchasing Russian oil gradually. The remarks from the American leader came on the same day Washington imposed sweeping new sanctions on two of Moscow’s top energy firms.

“India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop… It’s a process. You can’t just stop (buying oil from Russia). By the end of the year, they’ll be down to almost nothing, almost 40 per cent of the oil. India, they’ve been great. Spoke to Prime Minister Modi yesterday. They’ve been absolutely great,” Trump told reporters in Washington.

His remarks came just hours after the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, accusing them of fueling President Vladimir Putin’s war effort in Ukraine.

More from World

Trump warns of more tariffs if India continues Russian oil trade, repeats claims of stopping war with Pakistan Trump seeks $230 mn compensation from justice dept for Biden-era probes: Report

#WATCH | Washington DC | Regarding his upcoming meetign with Chinese President Xi, US President Donald Trump says, "India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop...it's a process. You can't just stop (buying oil from Russia). By the end of the year, they'll be down to… pic.twitter.com/XXdL1ETOZf

— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2025

“The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is imposing further sanctions as a result of Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine,” the department said in a statement. “Today’s actions increase pressure on Russia’s energy sector and degrade the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine and support its weakened economy.”

What about China?

When it comes to imposing similar sanctions on China for purchasing oil from Russia, Trump said that Beijing has a “little bit different relationship with Russia".

“It was never good, but because of Biden and Obama, they got forced together. They should never have been forced together… They (China-Russia) can’t be friendly… I hope they are friendly, but they can’t be… Biden and Obama forced them together because of energy and oil. They are closer than they would normally be," he said.

“I’ll probably be talking about it. What I’ll really be talking to him about is how we end the war with Russia and Ukraine, whether it’s through oil or energy or anything else. I think he’s going to be very receptive,” he averred.

Trump imposes ’tremendous’ sanctions on Russian oil

The sanctions on Russian oil giants were the first imposed against Moscow since Trump returned to the White House and aim to cut key revenues from oil sales for Russia.

The move against Russia marks the latest swing of the pendulum under the Trump administration, from coercing Kyiv to sue for peace to growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s maximalist demands. “Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” said the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, in a statement announcing the sanctions against Russia.

“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions," he added.

While speaking on the matter in the Oval Office with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump also confirmed the cancellation of the summit with Putin, which was supposed to take place in Budapest, Hungary. “We cancelled the meeting with President Putin,” Trump said. “It didn’t feel right to me. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we had to get, so I cancelled it. But we’ll do it in the future.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine and its European allies welcomed the move. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she had spoken with Bessent shortly before the announcement and praised the new sanctions. “With the imminent adoption of the EU’s 19th [sanctions] package, this is a clear signal from both sides of the Atlantic that we will keep up collective pressure on the aggressor,” she wrote.