"Well, I understand India no longer is going to be buying oil from Russia. That's what I heard. I don't know if that's right or not, but that's a good step. We'll see what happens," Trump told reporters Friday

Trump's comments come a day after the White House announced tariffs the US will impose on exports from about 70 nations. According to the executive order, India will face tariffs of 25 per cent, but it did not mention the "penalty" that Trump had said India will have to pay because of its purchases of Russian military equipment and energy

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked at the weekly media briefing on Friday about the reports claiming that Indian oil companies have stopped buying oil from Russia in the past week

Jaiswal responded that as far as sourcing India's energy requirements is concerned, "we take decisions based on the price at which oil is available in the international market and depending on the global situation at that time. As for the specifics of your particular question, I am not aware of it. I don't have details of these specifics"

Declaring that the US has a massive trade deficit with India, Trump had said that while "India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any country"