'Good step': Donald Trump claims India won't buy oil from Russia; New Delhi sources deny

Washington DC/IBNS: US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) claimed India will no longer buy oil from Russia amid the conflict between New Delhi and Washington over tariffs and a trade deal.
Trump, however, said he was not sure of what he was claiming.
Speaking to reporters, the President said, "I understand India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia. That's what I heard, I don't know if that's right or not. That's a good step. We will see what happens..."
#WATCH | "I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia. That's what I heard, I don't know if that's right or not. That is a good step. We will see what happens..." says, US President Donald Trump on a question by ANI, if he had a number in mind for the… pic.twitter.com/qAbGUkpE12
— ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025
NDTV reported that sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said they were not aware of any pause on the imports.
The India-US conflict started after Trump earlier this week imposed a 25 percent tariff on all Indian imports and an added penalty.
He vented out against India for purchasing oil from Russia.
The President wrote on Truth Social, "Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country.
"Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!"
Training his guns at India and its all-weather friend Russia, Trump called India's economy "dead".
Trump posted on Truth Social, "I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World.
"Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!"
India on Friday snubbed Trump's attacks and called the South Asian country's relationship with Russia "steady and time-tested partnership.".
"Our ties with any country or all the ties that we have with various countries stand on their own merit and they should not be seen from the prism of a third country. As far as India-Russia relations are concerned, we have a steady and time-tested partnership," said India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
Our bilateral relationships with various countries stand on their own merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. India 🇮🇳 and 🇷🇺Russia have a steady and time-tested partnership.
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) August 1, 2025
- MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal@MEAIndia | #Russia | #India pic.twitter.com/xMcA2hbREz