*

Trump says Modi has assured him that India will stop its

buying

*

Russia remains India's top source of oil imports

(Recasts with detail on refiners, context)

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Some Indian refiners are

preparing to cut Russian oil imports, three sources told Reuters

on Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said India had

given an assurance it would stop its buying to help end the war

in Ukraine.

India and China are the biggest buyers of Russian sea-borne

crude, taking advantage of discounted prices Russia was forced

to offer after losing sales to Europe following Moscow's

invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Indian refiners are preparing to shift away from Russian

oil, with a drop in purchases possible from December given

orders for November have already been placed, the sources with

knowledge of the matter said.

Refiners have not been formally told by the government

to stop buying Russian oil, said the sources, who declined to be

identified as they are not authorised to speak to media.

DEEPER CO-OPERATION

Indian officials are in Washington for trade talks, with the

U.S. having doubled tariffs on Indian goods.

U.S. negotiators have said curbing its Russian crude

purchases would be crucial to reducing India's tariff rate and

sealing a trade deal.

A foreign ministry spokesman said it was discussing deeper

energy co-operation with the United States.

"The current (U.S.) administration has shown interest in

deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are

ongoing," Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.

Trump on Wednesday said he had spoken to Prime Minister

Narendra Modi about India's purchases of Russian oil as part of

his efforts to raises pressure on Moscow to negotiate a peace

deal with Ukraine.

"I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he

(Modi)assured me today that they will not be buying oil from

Russia," Trump told reporters during a White House event.

"That's a big step. Now we're going to get China to do the

same thing."

Oil prices rose around 1% on Thursday.

Russia accounted for 36% of India's oil imports in the six

months through September, or some 1.75 million barrels per day,

trade data showed.

Imports are set to rise in October to 1.9 million bpd, Kpler

data showed, as Russia ramped up exports after Ukrainian drones

hit its refineries.

RUSSIA STILL CONFIDENT

Russia said on Thursday it was confident its energy

partnership with India would continue.

"Our energy resource is in demand, it's economically

advantageous and practical, and I'm confident that our partners

will continue to work with us," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander

Novak said, referring to India.

India's Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals

said it was hunting for alternative sources sold at a discount

while hoping to continue buying Russian oil.