ONCE again, US President Donald Trump has made a claim that may not square with facts — but is so closely linked to the ongoing diplomatic negotiations between India and US that New Delhi has little option but to tread with caution.

Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him Wednesday that India would stop buying Russian oil. The Ministry of External Affairs Thursday denied knowledge of any such conversation and reiterated its stated position on the Russian purchase for which the US had slapped an extra 25% tariff penalty in August.

New Delhi ’s task ahead is cut out even as a trade delegation is engaged in a fresh round of talks to seal a bilateral trade deal.

Trump’s public posturing makes it all the more difficult for India to cut back on Russian oil immediately

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