'Guided by interests of our consumers': India responds to Trump's remark on Modi's oil 'assurance'

After US President Donald Trump announced that India had assured him they would stop buying Russian oil, the Ministry of External Affairs has responded by releasing a statement.

It has stated that India’s steady focus is on protecting the interests of its consumers amid fluctuations in the global energy market.

On Wednesday, Trump said, “He’s (Modi) a friend of mine. We have a great relationship. I was not happy that India was buying oil. And he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big stop. Now we have got to get China to do the same thing.”

Reacting to this, the Congress today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of surrendering key policy decisions to Trump. “PM Modi is frightened of Trump,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on X.  “He allows Trump to decide and announce that India will not buy Russian oil, keeps sending congratulatory messages despite repeated snubs, cancels the Finance Minister’s visit to America, skips Sharm el-Sheikh, and doesn’t contradict him on Operation Sindoor,” he wrote.

Now, MEA's spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has responded by saying, "India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective."

"Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy. This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions," the statement further read.

"Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing," it said.