US President Donald Trump on Saturday reiterated that India is cutting back the Russian oil imports completely, as he announced sanctions targeting Moscow’s oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.Ahead of his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, Trump expressed hope that the discussions would yield a “complete deal,” Bloomberg reported.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions between the US and China over trade, technology, and raw material restrictions, increasing pressure on both nations to reach an agreement that could pause the ongoing trade war.Responding to reporters on whether he will discuss Russia oil purchases with Chinese counterpart, Trump said, “I may be discussing it, but you know China’s — you probably saw today — China is cutting back very substantially on the purchase of Russian oil, and India is cutting back completely, and we’ve done sanctions.” India has, however, consistently rejected Trump’s claims that New Delhi would cut down oil imports from Russia, saying that its priority remains “protecting national interests”.Also read: Will New Delhi’s crude oil imports from Russia stop amid Trump’s looming warnings? Here’s what analysts sayTrump expressed optimism about the ongoing discussions, stating that he would address agricultural trade and China’s role in exporting components used to produce fentanyl. “I want our farmers to be taken care of, and he wants things also. We’re going to be talking about fentanyl. It is killing a lot of people, a lot of people, it comes from China,” he said.Also read: Trump sanctions impact- Reliance, India’s biggest importer of Russian oil, buys millions of barrels of crude from Middle East, USThis is not the first claims, earlier also, Trump said that India would cut down Russian oil imports by the end of the year, noting that it was a gradual process. “India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop…it’s a process. You can’t just stop (buying oil from Russia). By the end of the year, they’ll be down to almost nothing; almost 40 percent of the oil,” he said.
