Washington, 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 conversation or a telephone call between PM Modi and President Trump, I am not aware of any conversation yesterday [Wednesday] between the two leaders," Jaiswal told a media. Trump acknowledged that ending Russian oil purchases would take time. "You know, you can't do it immediately. It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon," he said, adding: "Within a short period of time, they will not be buying oil from Russia, and they'll go back to Russia after the war is open." Russian oil purchases have become central to both Trump's Ukraine peace strategy and the trade tensions between Washington and New Delhi. The US has imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods-including a 25% penalty specifically for Russian energy purchases-arguing that such transactions fund Moscow's war machine....