The White House has claimed that India has begun "scaling back" its oil purchases from Russia at the "request" of US President Donald Trump.
During a press briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "If you see and read the sanctions on Russia, they are pretty hefty."
She was referring to the US sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, on Wednesday, as part of its efforts to choke off key revenue streams for Moscow amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
"I saw some international news that suggests China is scaling back oil purchases from Russia; we know that India has done the same at the request of the President," she claimed.
Leavitt said Washington has also urged its European allies to cut their Russian oil imports as part of what she called a “full-court press” against Moscow's war-financing channels.
The US president and his administration have been claiming for the past few days that India has assured that it will significantly reduce its oil imports from Russia. However, India has been maintaining that its energy policy is guided by its own national interest, especially ensuring affordable and secure supplies for its consumers.
According to the US, India is helping Russian President Vladimir Putin to finance the Ukraine war through its purchase of crude oil from Moscow.
The relations between New Delhi and Washington have been reeling under severe stress after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duty for India's purchase of Russian crude oil.
India described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable". Leavitt said Trump had long signalled that he would act against Russia “when he felt it was appropriate and necessary, and yesterday was that day”. She said Trump has "long expressed his frustration" with Putin for showing "not enough interest or action" in moving toward a peace settlement.
Trump and Putin were expected to meet later this year in Hungary, but the meeting has now been postponed indefinitely. However, Leavitt said a meeting between the two leaders "is not completely off the table" and "can happen again one day".