A top aide to Donald Trump accused India of aiding Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine by purchasing Russian oil as tensions between New Delhi and Washington soared over ties with Moscow.
India is lately facing relentless American pressure over its relations with Russia, a longstanding defence and trade partner.
Just last week, Mr Trump threatened New Delhi with unspecified penalties over and above a new 25 per cent import tariff for buying oil and weapons from Russia.
Mr Trump, who had listed ending the war in Ukraine a top priority for his second presidential term, has been threatening sanctions on countries trading with Moscow after accusing Mr Putin of stalling ceasefire talks. The US president has also resumed sending weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Trump is threatening to impose a 100 per cent tariff on exports to the US from any nation purchasing Russian oil in defiance of Western sanctions unless Moscow agrees a peace deal with Ukraine and ends the war.
“What he said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told Fox News, referring to the US president. "People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That’s an astonishing fact."
Mr Miller’s remarks constitute Washington’s strongest criticism yet of one of its key partners in the Indo-Pacific. “India portrays itself as being one of our closest friends in the world, but they don't accept our products. They impose massive tariffs on us,” he said. “We also know they engage in a lot of cheating on immigration policies that is very harmful to American workers.”
The White House aide said Mr Trump sought a “tremendous relationship” with India and its leader Narendra Modi but “we need to get real about dealing with the financing of this war”. “All options are on the table, to deal diplomatically, financially and otherwise with the ongoing war in Ukraine so we can achieve peace,” Mr Miller said.
Russia is the leading oil supplier to India, the world’s third-largest consumer of the commodity, accounting for some 35 per cent of its imports. Russia exported nearly 1.75 million barrels of oil to India per day between January and June this year, a rise of about one per cent from a year ago, Reuters reported.
And despite Mr Trump’s threats, Indian officials said the country would keep purchasing oil from Russia.
“These are long-term oil contracts," a government source told Reuters on Saturday. "It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight.”
Justifying oil purchases from Russia, another official said India's imports from Russia helped avoid a global surge in prices, which remained subdued despite Western curbs on the Russian oil sector.
Unlike Iranian and Venezuelan oil, Russian crude is not subject to direct sanctions and India is buying it below the current price cap fixed by the European Union, the official told Reuters.
