Trump Says India has Made Deal to Buy Venezuelan 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, Trump said
Washington DC: US President Donald Trump said that China is “welcome” to buy Venezuelan oil, while claiming that India has already “made” a deal to purchase oil from Venezuela.
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.”
Repeating his remarks, Trump added, “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. We’ve already made that deal, the concept of the deal. But China’s welcome to come in and buy oil.”
The Indian government has not yet responded to Trump’s comments.
Earlier, Trump said that 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 during an event marking the renaming of Southern Boulevard to Donald Trump Boulevard, Trump said, “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 also praised what he described as a “great relationship” with the Venezuelan interim government, formed after the US 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 had stated that Washington would “run” Venezuela during a transition period and would require “total access to the oil and to other things in their country.”
Trump’s remarks also appear to confirm a recent report by New York-based news outlet Semafor, which said the US has made its first sale of Venezuelan oil valued at USD 500 million.
According to the report, revenue from the oil sales is currently being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government. An administration official said this arrangement was outlined in a recent order, adding that the main account is located in Qatar.
