U.S. President Donald Trump has said he could travel to India next year and noted that trade talks with India are “going good”.
“It’s great, going good. He [Prime Minister Narendra Modi] stopped… Largely he stopped buying oil from Russia,” Trump said in the Oval Office when asked about his talks with Mr. Modi and the progress of trade discussions with India.
“He’s (PM Modi) a friend of mine, and we speak… He wants me to go there. We’ll figure that out. I’ll go. I will have a great trip there with Prime Minister Modi, he’s a great man. And I’ll be going,” Trump said.
When asked if he is planning to go to India next year, the US President said, “It could be, yeah.”
Trump had slapped India with 50% tariffs in August, including a 25% penalty for buying Russian oil and arms, which he says was funding Moscow’s war with Ukraine – a charge Delhi denies.
Trump’s comments come as Delhi and Washington are working to conclude a high-stakes trade deal later this year.
While trade talks between India and the US have resumed after months of being stalled over Delhi’s Russian oil purchases, India has not directly confirmed Trump’s claims of reducing imports.
India is the second-largest importer of Russian crude after China. Russian oil made up 35% to 40% of India’s oil imports in 2024 – up from 3% in 2021.
Delhi has defended its purchases of Russian oil, arguing that as a major energy importer, it must buy the cheapest available oil to protect millions of Indians from rising costs.
ALSO READ: India cutting Russian oil imports ‘completely’, claims Trump ahead of APEC summit
India will host leaders from Australia, Japan, and the United States for the Quad summit in New Delhi after the 2024 summit was held in Wilmington, Delaware.
However, the dates for the summit in India are yet to be announced.
Along with reducing dependence on Moscow, the Trump administration has been putting pressure on Delhi to buy more oil and gas from the US.
