President Donald Trumpappears to have set the cat among the pigeons yet again so far as recent Indian foreign policy actions are concerned, this time with regard to an alleged assurance by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India would halt its oil imports from Russia. Speaking at the White House, Mr. Trump said that Mr. Modi had assured him on Wednesday (October 15, 2025) that India “will not be buying oil from Russia… Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing”. This utterance follows in the wake of a summer of heightened temperatures in the bilateral space, after multiple claims by Mr. Trump that he played a role in bringing Operation Sindoor to an abrupt halt, with a full and immediate ceasefire agreed only after “a long night of talks mediated by the United States”. India was quick to challenge the White House’s narrative, with a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson saying that he was unaware of a conversation between the leaders on the previous day, even if discussions were “ongoing” about deepening India’s energy cooperation with the U.S. Nevertheless, he did not unequivocally confirm or deny Mr. Trump’s assertion that India would be halting its purchases of Russian oil. A similar ‘soft denial’ approach seemed to be the chosen tack in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.