Washington, 23 Oct

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim that India has agreed to "stop" buying oil from Russia and would bring them down to “almost nothing” by the end of the year.

However, he said, it is a process and will take some time.

Trump also said that he would try to persuade China to do the same. China and India are the two biggest buyers of Russian crude oil.

"India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop (buying Russian oil)... It's a process. You can’t just stop... By the end of the year, they'll be down to almost nothing, almost 40 per cent of the oil. India, they've been great. Spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi yesterday. They've been absolutely great,” the president told reporters at White House on Wednesday.

Trump has been claiming for the past few days that India has assured him that it will significantly reduce its oil imports from Russia.

According to the US, India is helping Putin to finance the war through its purchase of Russian crude oil.

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".

Trump said during his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he would discuss with him ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

“What I'll really be talking to him about is how we end the war with Russia and Ukraine, whether it's through oil or energy or anything else. I think he’s going to be very receptive,” he said.

The president said that the relationship between China and Russia "is a little bit different".

Though Beijing’s relationship with Moscow "was never good", it had changed due to the policies of the previous US administrations.

“China is a little bit different. They have a little bit different relationship with Russia. It was never good, but because of Biden and Obama, they got forced together. They should never have been forced together... by nature, they (China-Russia) can't be friendly... I hope they are friendly, but they can't be... Biden and Obama forced them together because of energy and oil. They are closer than they would normally be,” he said.

Trump is set to meet Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea later this month.

Defending his trade policy, Trump credited tariffs for strengthening the US economy.

“We are doing so well as a country right now because of tariffs. Tariffs have been used against us for decades... and that was slowly hurting our country. That's why we owe USD 37 trillion. Because of tariffs, we're now a rich country. We're taking in money like we've never done before,” he said.

Asserting that tariffs were vital for America’s prosperity, Trump said, “Without tariffs, the US would become a third-world country. I cannot let that happen. With tariffs, we are a rich, secure country; without them, we would be a laughing stock.”

Trump claimed tariffs have also helped prevent conflicts.

"I solved eight wars. Of the eight, five or six were because of tariffs," he said.

Repeating his claim that he helped stop the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan, Trump said he told the two countries, "If you want to fight, that’s okay. But you’re going to pay tariffs. Two days later, they called up and said they’re not going to fight anymore. They have peace.”

Trump has been repeating his claim dozens of times that he “helped settle” the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan. India has consistently maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan in May was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.