India, Oct. 17 -- US President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him India will stop purchasing Russian oil, but India denied any conversation occurred on Wednesday when Trump said the discussion took place.

"He's assured me, there will be no oil purchase from Russia. I don't know. Maybe that's a breaking story," Trump said at the White House, where he spoke highly of Modi, describing the Indian PM as "a great man" and "my friend".

"That's a significant step. Now we're going to encourage China to do the same thing," he added.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the leaders had last spoken on October 9, not Wednesday. "On the question of whether there was a conversati...