‘Important To Make Me Happy’: US President Trump Says ‘Good Man’ Modi Cut Russian Oil Import; Warns Of… | India News

US President Donald Trump once again claimed that India is reducing oil imports from Russia to avoid tariffs. Speaking to reporters on the Air Force One plane, Trump described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a ‘good man’ and added that the Indian Prime Minister was aware that the US President was not happy with the oil deal with Russia and therefore reduced New Delhi’s imports from Moscow.

“Modi is a very good man,” Trump told reporters. “He’s a good guy… They (Indians) basically wanted to make me happy. (Prime Minister) Modi is a very good guy. Yes, he’s a good guy. He knew I wasn’t happy and it was important to make me happy,” Trump said.

Trump also warned that customs duties could be increased rapidly if countries give up their current positions, emphasizing that trade instruments remain under strong US control and said, “They are trading and we can increase customs duties very quickly in this regard.”

Trump said Washington revised India’s approach after realizing New Delhi’s dissatisfaction with continued Russian energy imports. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump stated that he understood India’s concerns and was trying to address them.

US Senator Lindsey Graham, who is with Trump, claimed that American tariff pressure led India to sharply reduce its oil purchases from Russia. He argued that this reduction undermined Russia’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine and underlined the impact of tariffs as a diplomatic and economic tool.

Addressing the media, Graham pointed out the 25 percent tax imposed by the USA on India for the purchase of Russian crude oil, and stated that this policy yielded concrete results.

Graham added that the proposed legislation would give the President broad powers to impose tariffs on countries that continue to import energy from Russia at discounted prices.

“If you’re buying cheap Russian oil to keep Putin’s war machine running, we’re trying to give the President the ability to make that difficult choice,” Graham said.

Graham said the bill, backed by 85 co-sponsors, would allow tariffs ranging from zero percent to 500 percent, entirely at the President’s discretion. He said the approach is already showing results.

“I was at the Indian ambassador’s house about a month ago, and all he wanted to talk about was how they were buying less Russian oil,” Graham said.