US 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, signalling a thaw in relations that soured to their lowest point in decades after the US 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.