Speaking before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump announced sanctions on Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil, expressing hope for a “complete deal” with Beijing.
BY PC Bureau
October 26, 2025: US President Donald Trump on Saturday reiterated that India has “completely cut back” on Russian oil imports as he announced new sanctions targeting Moscow’s energy giants, Rosneft and Lukoil.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump expressed optimism about securing a “complete deal” during his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. The visit comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade, technology, and access to critical raw materials — issues that have strained global supply chains and heightened pressure on both nations to reach a breakthrough.
Asked whether Russian oil purchases would feature in his talks with Xi, Trump said:
“I may be discussing it, but you probably saw today — China is cutting back very substantially on the purchase of Russian oil, and India is cutting back completely. And we’ve done sanctions.”
Trump’s comments follow his earlier remarks suggesting that India would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year, describing it as a “gradual process.”
President Trump again claims India has “completely cut back” on Russian oil purchases and reiterates that the 2021 India–Pakistan ceasefire happened “because of him.” pic.twitter.com/vS1UYVVPC9
— Shalinder Wangu (@Wangu_News18) October 26, 2025
“India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop. It’s a process — you can’t just stop buying overnight. By the end of the year, they’ll be down to almost nothing, almost 40 percent of the oil,” he said.
However, Indian officials have repeatedly dismissed Trump’s assertions, maintaining that New Delhi’s energy policy is driven solely by national interests. India continues to be one of the largest buyers of discounted Russian crude, even as it diversifies supplies from the Middle East and the United States.
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Trump also signaled plans to raise issues related to agricultural trade and China’s role in supplying precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl — a synthetic opioid fueling a major health crisis in the United States.
“We’re going to be talking about fentanyl. It’s killing a lot of people — it comes from China,” he said.
Analysts say while Trump’s latest sanctions could complicate global oil flows, India’s energy strategy is unlikely to shift dramatically in the short term, given its dependence on affordable imports to meet domestic demand.
