'Cut Russian oil or continue facing massive tariffs': Trump issues warning to India

The high-stakes trade standoff between the world's two largest democracies might intensify as President Donald Trump on Monday publicly issued a stark ultimatum: India will continue to pay "massive" tariffs unless it restricts its import of Russian crude oil."I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he's not going to be doing the Russian oil thing," the President further said aboard Air Force One.Asked about India’s claim that it had no knowledge of any conversation between PM Modi and Trump, he responded, “But if they want to say that, then they'll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don't want to do that.”The threat links Washington's core geopolitical objective—cutting Moscow's oil revenue to allegedly fund its war in Ukraine—directly to crippling economic pain for New Delhi's exporters. This coercive diplomacy comes after the Trump administration hiked duties on a range of Indian goods to an unprecedented 50%, with the penalty for Russian oil purchases being explicitly cited as the reason.The Republican President's comments on New Delhi committing to phasing out Russian oil comes a second time in one week. A day after India rebutted his earlier claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him of halting Russian oil imports, Trump doubled down on Friday, asserting that New Delhi had already “de-escalated and more or less stopped” buying oil from Moscow.Speaking during a bilateral luncheon with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, Trump declared that India “will not be buying oil from Russia anymore,” adding that it had previously purchased about 38 percent of its oil from Moscow but was now “pulling back entirely.”He contrasted India’s position with that of Hungary, which he described as “stuck” due to its dependence on a single pipeline. Trump’s renewed remarks highlight the administration’s continued push to isolate Moscow’s energy trade amid the Ukraine conflict.India reaffirms energy policyNew Delhi, however, has maintained that its energy policy is guided by national interest and the need to safeguard consumers from volatile global prices. Responding to Trump’s remarks, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated that India is a significant importer of oil and gas, and that diversification of energy sources remains a key priority.“It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario,” Jaiswal said, adding that India’s import policies are determined by market conditions and aimed at ensuring stable prices and secure supplies.He also noted that energy cooperation with the U.S. has expanded over the past decade and that discussions on deepening that partnership remain ongoing.