On Sunday, US President Donald Trump once again said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him India would halt buying Russian oil , but warned that New Delhi would face ‘massive’ tariffs if it didn’t.

“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Asked about India’s assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”

Russian Oil: A Deciding Factor

Russian oil has been one of the main irritants for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India – half of his 50% tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those purchases. The

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