Washington, Nov. 8 -- US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would visit India, perhaps as early as next year, while calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "great man" and a "friend" and reiterating his claim that India had stopped buying Russian oil. "They (India) are going good, he (Modi) stopped buying oil from Russia largely. He is a friend of mine, and we speak and he wants me to go there. We will figure that out, I will go... Prime Minister Modi is a great man and I will be going," Trump said at the White House. When asked if he is planning to go to India next year, Trump said, "It could be, yeah." India's external affairs ministry said it did not have any information to share on Trump's comments. "As far as the comments of President Trump regarding his visit to India are concerned, I do not have anything on this to share. I will let you know when I have something to share about it," Jaiswal said at a press briefing. A Modi-Trump meeting was earlier expected to take place in India this year on the sidelines of the four-nation Quad Leaders summit. Tensions between New Delhi and Washington over trade and Indian purchases of Russian energy led to speculation that Trump would cancel his visit to India. After an easing of tensions in September, senior US state department officials confirmed that planning for Trump's visit to India was on. According to people aware of the matter, diplomats in Washington, New Delhi, Canberra and Tokyo were initially planning for a Quad summit in January. However, a meeting now appears unlikely to happen then, given scheduling problems as well as clashes with India's Republic Day celebrations. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese indicated that a leaders summit could take place in the first quarter of 2026. America's 50% tariff on Indian goods as well as the Trump administration's public criticism of India, created tension in the bilateral relationship....