Trump threat forces India to halt oil imports from Russia

ISLAMABAD: India, which claims to have an independent foreign policy, has finally bowed to American pressure. The Modi government has taken a major U-turn on its policy of buying cheap oil from Russia and retreated.

According to American media reports, the 10-year oil contracts signed by Indian companies with Russia have become practically meaningless after Washington’s sanctions. Modi’s close billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani has also stopped buying Russian oil, obeying American orders.

According to the report, after the Russian oil stops, Reliance will have to buy expensive oil from the Middle East and possibly from the United States. The company’s refinery will be run on non-Russian crude oil from December 1. American experts are calling it a major concession by India in favor of Washington.

The American newspaper says that India has been benefiting billions of dollars from Russian oil for years, but the 50 percent tariff imposed by Trump proved decisive for the Modi government.

This pressure led India to decide not to buy Russian oil, even though one Indian company had oil deals with Russia worth more than $33 billion.

The Trump administration had already made it clear that no progress on a trade deal between the US and India would be possible if Russian oil purchases continued.