NEW DELHI – As part of its strategy to diversify energy sources, India is planning to increase its imports of crude oil and natural gas from the United States. This move comes amid growing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has criticized India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil.

On Wednesday, President Trump revealed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him of India’s intentions to cease buying oil from Russia. This decision is seen as a potential step towards exerting pressure on Moscow to consider negotiations for ending the conflict in Ukraine.

“There will be no more oil. He’s not buying oil,” Trump declared. He noted that although this change won’t happen immediately, it will occur “within a short period of time.”

Currently, India ranks as the second-largest buyer of Russian oil, following China. Trump’s comments on India’s oil purchases were highlighted when he announced a 50% tariff on imports from India back in August.

In response to these developments, India’s foreign ministry released a statement on Thursday. Although it did not directly address President Trump’s remarks, the statement emphasized that the government’s ongoing priority is to protect the interests of Indian consumers amid the fluctuating 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,” said Randhir Jaiswal, a ministry spokesman.

He said the Trump administration had shown interest in deepening energy cooperation and talks on that were underway.

Expanding India’s energy dealings with the U.S. could help India mitigate supply disruptions and align with Washington’s push to reduce global dependence on Russian oil.

India’s Trade Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said Wednesday that India was willing to increase its purchases of American oil and natural gas if prices were competitive.

Agarwal told reporters India has been buying around $12-$13 billion worth of crude oil and gas from the U.S. annually and there was room to nearly double that without causing disruptions for Indian refiners.

A team of Indian government officials was visiting the U.S. to discuss a bilateral trade agreement that includes energy cooperation, he said.

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

In February, Modi and Trump set a target of finalizing the first tranche of a trade agreement by autumn. Talks were suspended after five formal rounds of negotiations after Trump expressed displeasure over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. He said that was helping to fuel Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Trump has been frustrated by his inability to force an end to the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion almost four years ago. He’s expressed dissatisfaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he increasingly describes as the primary obstacle to a resolution, and he’s scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

In recent weeks, Modi has engaged positively on Trump’s social media posts, including the one about first stage of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, suggesting New Delhi is keen to expand cooperation with the U.S. In turn, Trump called Modi his “friend” and wished him well on his birthday last month.