'Don't want to destroy his political career': Donald Trump lauds ‘my friend’ PM Modi

US chair Donald ruff on wed praised ground government minister Narendra Modi, calling him a “great man” and his “friend", while claiming that India had assured him it would stop purchasing oil from Russia.Donald Trump described the move as a “big step” in pressuring Moscow over the ongoing Ukraine war, while also lauding PM Narendra Modi’s long tenure and leadership in India.Modi "is a great man. He loves Trump," the US president said, referring to himself in the third person while speaking to reporters at his Oval Office.“I don't want to destroy his political career,” Trump said of Modi.“I have watched India for years. It's an incredible country, and every single year you would have a new leader,” Trump said, adding, “My friend has been there now for a long time.”Trump then claimed that the prime minister had promised him New Delhi would stop buying Russian oil, months after the US slapped punitive tariffs over the purchases.“He is assured me there will be no oil purchased from Russia,” Trump told reporters."You know, you can't do it immediately. It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon," the US president further told the reporters.How India respondedIn response, the ministry of external affairs said India's consistent priority is to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario."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," MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement."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 added."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.India's continuing purchase of petroleum products from Russia, notwithstanding Western sanctions, has become a major issue that resulted in a severe downturn in ties between New Delhi and Washington.Speaking to reporters at his Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said the US was “not happy” that India was buying Russian crude, arguing such purchases helped finance President Vladimir Putin’s war.“He (Modi) is a friend of mine, we have a great relationship... We were not happy with him buying oil from Russia because that let Russia continue on with this ridiculous war where they've lost a million and a half people,” the US president said in response to a question.India is the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).The US president suggested that the US wants India to stop procurement of Russian crude only to put financial pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.“All we want from President Putin is to stop this, stop killing Ukrainians and stop killing Russians because he's killing a lot of Russians. It is a war he should have won in one week, and now it is going into its fourth year,” he said.He said India could resume energy trade with Moscow after the Russia-Ukraine war is over.“If India doesn’t buy oil, it makes it much easier, and they’re not going to buy, they assured me they will, within a short period of time, they will not be buying oil from Russia... And they’ll go back to Russia after the war is over,” he said.Traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern oil, India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, significantly increased its imports from Russia following the February 2022 Ukraine invasion.Western sanctions and reduced European demand made Russian oil available at steep discounts. As a result, India's Russian crude imports surged from under 1 per cent to nearly 40 per cent of its total crude oil imports in a short span.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".(With inputs from agencies)