New Delhi [India], February 1 (ANI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday reacted sharply to recent remarks by US President Donald Trump on India’s oil imports, saying the US President appeared to be repeatedly “informing” India about decisions allegedly taken by its own government.
In a post on X, Ramesh referred to Trump’s comments on multiple issues, including Operation Sindoor and India’s oil policy. “He told us Op Sindoor had been halted. He told us India had stopped buying Russian oil. And now this,” Ramesh wrote. “President Trump continues to give us information on what our own government has done or will be doing,” he added.
Ramesh’s remarks came after Trump claimed that India had already made a deal to buy Venezuelan oil instead of sourcing crude from Iran. On January 31, Trump said China was “welcome” to buy Venezuelan oil and asserted that India had already agreed to purchase it.
Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “China is welcome to come in and make a great deal on oil. We’ve already made a deal. India is coming in, and they’re going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. So we’ve already made the concept of the deal.”
He repeated the claim, saying India would be purchasing Venezuelan oil under an arrangement already agreed upon, while reiterating that China could also enter similar negotiations.
The Indian government has not yet responded to Trump’s comments.
Earlier, Trump said Venezuela had offered the United States 50 million barrels of oil worth USD 5.2 billion, an offer he said Washington had accepted. Speaking to the press at an event marking the renaming of Southern Boulevard to Donald Trump Boulevard, he said the oil needed to be processed immediately due to storage constraints.
“We’re dealing with the new President. We’re dealing with a lot of the people who are running the country. They said, we have 50 million barrels of oil, and we have to get it processed immediately because we have no room. Will you take it? I said, we’ll take it. It’s equivalent to USD 5.2 billion,” Trump said.
Trump also praised what he described as a “great relationship” with the Venezuelan interim government, which was formed after the United States captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation.
“We’ve had a great relationship with the people who are currently the interim president and everybody else. A lot of pressure has been released,” he said.
Following Maduro’s capture, Trump said Washington would oversee Venezuela during a transition period and would require total access to the country’s oil and other resources.
Trump’s remarks also appeared to confirm a recent report by New York-based outlet Semafor, which said the United States had made its first sale of Venezuelan oil valued at USD 500 million. According to the report, revenue from the oil sales is being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, with the main account located in Qatar.
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