India has said it is looking to expand purchases of crude oil and natural gas from the United States as part of efforts to diversify its energy supplies, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism over India’s continued imports of discounted Russian oil.

Trump said Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil — a move that could further tighten pressure on Moscow to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

There will be no oil. He’s not buying oil,” Trump told reporters, adding that the change would take effect “within a short period of time.”

India is currently the world’s second-largest buyer of Russian oil after China. Trump had cited India’s purchases from Moscow when he imposed 50% tariffs on imports from India in August.

In a statement Thursday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs did not directly respond to Trump’s remarks but reiterated that its priority was to safeguard consumer interests in a volatile global energy market.

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,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

He noted that the Trump administration had shown interest in deepening energy cooperation and that discussions were underway.

India’s Trade Secretary Rajesh Agarwal also said Wednesday that India was open to increasing its purchases of American oil and gas, provided prices remain competitive.

India currently imports around $12–13 billion worth of crude oil and natural gas from the U.S. annually, and there is scope to nearly double that without disrupting refinery operations,” he said, adding that a government delegation was in Washington to discuss a bilateral trade agreement that includes energy cooperation.

In discussions we have indicated very positively that India would like to diversify its portfolio as far as energy imports are concerned. That’s the best strategy for a big buyer like India,” Agarwal added.

In February, Modi and Trump had set a target to finalize the first phase of a trade deal by autumn. Talks were later suspended after five formal rounds of negotiations, following Trump’s dissatisfaction with India’s continued Russian oil purchases — which he said were fueling Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Trump, who has grown increasingly frustrated over his inability to end the Ukraine war, has recently expressed dissatisfaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him an obstacle to peace. He is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

In recent weeks, Modi has responded positively to Trump’s social media messages, including one about the first stage of an Israel-Hamas peace deal — signaling New Delhi’s interest in closer cooperation with Washington. Trump, in turn, called Modi his “friend” and wished him well on his birthday last month.