'India has been very good on that front', US President Donald Trump said with reference to India cutting imports of Russian energy on Thursday. Trump discussed various topics with reporters in Air Force One on October 30, 2025.
With reference to Xi Jinping purchasing oil from Russia, Trump said, "There's a lot more we can do with the oil. He has been buying oil from Russia for a long time. It takes care of a a big part of China and, you know, I can say India's been very good good on that front but we didn't really discuss the oil." [sic]
US President Trump met face-to-face with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, a chance for the leaders of the world's two largest economies to stabilise relations after months of turmoil over trade issues.
The meeting lasted a little over 100 minutes, with the two leaders shaking hands and Trump appearing to say something into Xi's ear, just before the Chinese leader entered his own limousine.
Trump was shortly back aboard Air Force One to return to Washington. The leaders met in Busan, South Korea, a port city about 76 kilometers south from Gyeongju, the main venue for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Two weeks earlier, Trump reiterated that India will not be buying oil from Russia, saying that New Delhi has already 'de-escalated' and 'more or less stopped' its oil purchases.
Indian refiners have not placed any new orders for Russian oil after the US last week slapped sanctions on Moscow's top two crude exporters, as they assess the changed scenario to ensure not faulting with any international commitments.
Purchase of Russian oil, per se, has not been sanctioned, and it's only the Russian entities that have been blacklisted. This means that Russian crude, which is processed in refineries to make fuels like petrol and diesel, offered by any non-sanctioned entity could be considered.
Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) has suspended purchases of Russian crude oil. The private refiner, a joint venture between state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal's Mittal Energy Investments, said it will continue to review its position and comply with government policy and applicable laws.
HMEL, which operates a nine million tonnes a year oil refinery at Bhatinda in Punjab, is the first Indian firm to officially announce suspension of purchase of Russian crude after the US sanctioned two of Moscow's biggest oil firms. The US last week imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil in a bid to pressure Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine.
Russia currently supplies nearly a third of India's crude imports, averaging around 1.7 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2025, of which approximately 1.2 mbd came directly from Rosneft and Lukoil. Most of these volumes were bought by private refiners, Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy, with smaller allocations to state-owned refiners, including HMEL.
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