US President Donald Trump has once again claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised him to stop purchasing oil from Russia. Trump warned that if India continues to buy Russian oil, it will have to keep paying heavy trade tariffs.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, President Trump said,

“I spoke to Prime Minister Modi, and he said he’s not going to do the ‘Russian oil thing.’”

When asked about India’s denial of any such conversation, Trump replied:

“If they say that, then they’ll keep paying heavy tariffs and they don’t want that.”

According to the US government, revenues from Russian oil sales are helping finance Russia’s war in Ukraine. In response, Washington has imposed 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods half of which are directly linked to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.

After Western nations halted oil imports from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, India emerged as the largest buyer of Russian oil at discounted rates, mostly transported via sea routes.

Meanwhile, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said it had no record of any recent phone call between Modi and Trump, adding that India’s “primary concern remains protecting the interests of Indian consumers.”

However, media reports cite a White House official claiming that India has already cut its Russian oil imports by half. But Indian sources insist that domestic refineries have already placed orders for November, meaning any reduction would only be visible in December or January import data.

According to estimates by the commodity data firm Kpler, following recent Ukrainian drone strikes, Russia’s overall oil exports have risen and India’s imports of Russian crude this month are projected to increase by around 20 percent, reaching 1.9 million barrels per day.