ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that New Delhi would stop purchasing Russian crude oil, warning that India would otherwise continue to face “massive tariffs.”

Speaking to reporters as he returned to Washington, Trump said he recently spoke with Modi about India’s energy imports from Russia.

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

“If they want to say otherwise, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”

India has increased its purchases of discounted Russian crude since 2022, becoming one of Moscow’s top energy customers despite Western sanctions.