India casts doubt as Trump says Modi pledged to stop buying Russian oil

Indian officials said Thursday they were “not aware” of any conversation between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, appearing to contradict a claim by the American president that he had just secured a pledge from his Indian counterpart to stop buying Russian oil.

Modi “assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, which would have amounted to a significant concession from New Delhi on a central sticking point in the countries’ long-running and contentious trade negotiations.

Hours later, however, Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said in a news conference that he had no knowledge of any new conversation between the two leaders.

In an statement earlier that day, the MEA did not directly address the question of Russian oil, saying that its priority was “to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario” and that “our import policies are guided entirely by this objective.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an automated reply, it said staffing shortages from the government shutdown could lead to delayed responses.

Indian negotiators have previously told the Trump administration in private that they would be willing to cut back on oil purchases from Moscow, but couldn’t announce it publicly for fear of domestic political backlash.

The dispute over Russian crude has driven U.S.-India relations to their lowest point in decades. Despite more positive signals from both sides in recent weeks, the confusion Thursday appeared to be another example of a relationship beset by mutual misunderstanding.

In India, Trump’s comments stirred criticism from Modi’s critics, who painted the Indian leader as “frightened” of the U.S. president.