New Delhi : A top aide to US President Donald Trump criticised India for buying Russian oil, accusing the country of indirectly funding Russia’s war in Ukraine. Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s most influential advisors, said that Trump clearly believes India should stop buying Russian oil. Trump’s deputy chief of staff seemed surprised at the scale of India’s oil trade with Russia.
Miller tempered his criticism by noting Trump’s relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he described as tremendous. Despite the US pressure, India has shown no sign of stopping its purchases. According to the news agency Reuters, Indian government sources said they would continue to import oil from Russia. The Ministry of External Affairs said its relationship with Russia was “steady and time-tested”, and should not be seen through the prism of a third country.
Immediately after the tariff announcement, Trump launched a blistering attack on New Delhi’s ties with Moscow, dismissing both countries as “dead economies” and bluntly stating that he “does not care” what India does with Russia. Trump has said he would consider imposing steep tariffs — as high as 100% — on imports from any country that continues to purchase oil from Russia unless Russia agrees to a peace deal with Ukraine.
While US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also criticised India’s growing ties with Moscow. He called India a strategic partner but said its ongoing oil trade with Russia is a point of irritation in US-India relations. India’s imports of Russian oil have grown rapidly over the past few years.
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