A top United States official has accused India of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine by buying oil from Moscow, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on New Delhi to cut off its energy imports from Russia.
“What he (Trump) said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia,” Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House and one of Trump’s most influential aides, said in an interview with Fox News.
India is the second-largest buyer of Russian oil, after China, and more than 30 percent of its fuel is sourced from Moscow, providing revenue to the Kremlin amid Western sanctions. New Delhi imported just 1 percent of its oil from Russia before the Ukraine war started in 2022.
Miller’s criticism was among the strongest yet by the Trump administration – which came after the US slapped a 25 percent tariff on Indian products on Friday as a result of its purchase of military equipment and energy from Russia. The Trump administration also threatened additional penalties if India continued its purchase of arms and oil from Russia.
“People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That’s an astonishing fact,” Miller also said on the show.
The US aide tempered his criticism by noting Trump’s relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he described as “tremendous”.
Last week, Trump also underscored the “friendship” with India on the day he announced the tariffs on Asia’s second-largest economy.
While India was “our friend”, it had always bought most of its military equipment from Russia and was “Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE – ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on July 30.
“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”
Trump has threatened 100 percent tariffs on US imports from countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. The US president has also criticised India for being a member of BRICS, of which Russia and China are founding members.
Some analysts say the tough stance taken by the Trump administration might be aimed at pressuring Russia, while others see it as a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to terms set by Washington, as the two countries are engaged in trade talks. Trump wants to reduce the US trade deficit with India, which stands at $45bn.
‘Time-tested’ ties
Meanwhile, Indian government sources told the Reuters news agency on Saturday that New Delhi will keep buying oil from Moscow despite US threats.
The Indian 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. New Delhi’s ties to Moscow go back to the Soviet era.
Russia is the leading supplier of oil and defence equipment to India. According to a March report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia remains the biggest arms supplier of equipment and systems for the Indian Armed Forces.
Prime Minister Modi travelled to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin last year, as New Delhi has tried to balance its ties between the West and Russia. He has since met Putin several times at international forums.
India has historically bought most of its crude from the Middle East, but this has changed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as India bought the oil at discounted rates after the West shunned Russia to punish it.
New Delhi bought 68,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Russia in January 2022. By June of the same year, oil imports rose to 1.12 million barrels per day. The daily imports peaked at 2.15 million in May 2023 and have varied since.
Supplies rose as high as nearly 40 percent of India’s imports at one point, making Moscow the largest supplier of crude to New Delhi, the Press Trust of India reported, citing data from Kpler, a data analytics company.
India says its imports from Russia was within legal norms, adding that it has helped stabilise the global crude prices.
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