WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald

Trump speaks often with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and

trade teams from both countries continue to hold talks, the

White House said on Tuesday.

"The president and his trade team continue to be in very

serious discussions with India," White House spokeswoman

Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "I know the president has great

respect for Prime Minister Modi, and they speak pretty

frequently."

Trump said last week in South Korea that he wanted to reach

a trade deal with India - signaling a thaw in relations that

soured to their lowest point in decades after the U.S. president

doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50% as punishment for

India's purchases of Russian oil.

Indian refiners cut Russian oil imports after Washington

imposed sanctions last week on Moscow's top two crude exporters,

Rosneft and Lukoil.