US President on Wednesday, once again, claimed that India would cut down Russian oil imports by the end of the year, noting that it was a gradual process. The statement came after the States sanctioned two major Russian oil companies demanding immediate ceasefire from Moscow. “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 percent of the oil,” he said.India, however, has denied any such move, stressing that its focus remains on protecting consumer interests.Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on India over its continued purchase of Russian oil. Earlier, he had criticized this move saying, “Well then, they’re going to just keep paying a lot of tariffs if they said that, but I don’t believe they said that. No, I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing.”Talking about China situation, which could face 155% tariffs from November 1 if no deals are made, he said, “China is a little bit different. They have 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. I’ll probably be talking about it. What I’ll really be talking to him about is how do 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.”
