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As President Donald Trump claims India will drastically reduce Russian oil imports by year-end after talks with PM Modi, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor hits back, saying the US leader has “no right to announce India’s decisions to the world.”
Shashi Tharoor criticises Donald Trump for announcing India’s supposed oil policy.
New Delhi: Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has sharply criticised US President Donald Trump for claiming that India will “significantly reduce” imports of Russian oil by the end of the year. Tharoor said it was “inappropriate” for Trump to make announcements about our country’s internal decisions, asserting that India does not speak for Washington, and the US should extend the same courtesy.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for President Trump to be making announcements about India’s decisions. India will make its own announcements,” Tharoor told ANI. “We don’t tell the world what Trump will do — he shouldn’t be telling the world what India will do.”
The controversy erupted after Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday (local time) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him of a “gradual” phase-out of Russian oil imports.
“India, as you know, told me that they would stop. It is a process; you can’t just stop it. But by the end of the year, they will be down to almost nothing,” Trump said, calling it a “big thing” since Russian oil makes up a large portion of India’s imports.
He made the remarks while hosting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, praising India’s cooperation on global energy stability. However, New Delhi denied any such agreement, reiterating that its energy policy is guided solely by national interest and consumer security.
India will ‘almost stop’ buying Russian oil by year-end: Trump
Backing Trump’s statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the President was “increasingly frustrated” by the lack of progress in the Russia–Ukraine conflict and was determined to choke off Moscow’s oil revenues through new sanctions.
Leavitt said, “We’ve seen reports that China is scaling back Russian oil purchases. We know India has done the same at the President’s request. The President has urged allies to reduce dependence on Russian oil.”
Her comments came after Washington imposed fresh sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, as part of a new economic offensive aimed at isolating the Kremlin’s energy exports.
Trump claimed PM Modi promised to cut Russian oil imports.
According to Reuters, Indian state-run refiners are reviewing future contracts with Russian suppliers but have not committed to a complete phase-out. The government maintains that decisions on oil imports are dictated by price stability, supply security, and national interest, not external pressure.
Officials emphasised that India continues to diversify energy sources to protect domestic consumers from volatility in global markets.
Leavitt also acknowledged growing tensions between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the US President was “frustrated” by Moscow’s lack of progress toward peace talks. A planned Trump–Putin meeting has reportedly been postponed indefinitely after Russia rejected a US ceasefire proposal.
Putin, responding from Moscow, accused Washington of using economic coercion and dismissed the sanctions as an “unfriendly move” that would “fail to impact Russia’s economy.”
