United States President Donald Trump has actually declared that the tariffs troubled India for acquiring oil from Russia have actually affected Moscow’s choice to look for a conference with Washington, as the nation was losing its “second biggest consumer”.
The remarks come ahead of Trump’s prominent conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, arranged for Friday in Anchorage, Alaska.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Trump stated, “I think everything has an impact,” and declared that when he informed India that “we’re going to charge you, because you’re dealing with Russia and oil purchases”it “essentially took them out of buying oil from Russia”
“And then they (Russia) called, and they wanted to meet. We’re going to see what the meeting means. But certainly, when you lose your second largest customer, and you’re probably going to lose your first largest customer, I think that probably has a role.
“India was the 2nd biggest, and getting quite near to China. China is the biggest (buyer of Russian oil),” the US president said.
India on Thursday said it has not halted oil purchases from Russia in response to the US President’s tariff threat and continues to buy based solely on economic considerations.
Trump last week announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on US imports from India — raising the overall duty to 50 per cent — as a penalty for the country’s continued imports of Russian oil. The tariffs will come into effect from August 27.
Since the steep tariffs are likely to hit the $40 billion of non-exempt exports that India does to the US, there has been chatter around stopping or curtailing oil imports from Russia.
However, AS Sahney, Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest oil firm, has clarified that there is “no time out” on Russian oil imports, and India’s intent to continue buying Russian oil remains unchanged.
“We continue to purchase, simply based upon financial factors to consider, that is to state if the rates and attributes of the crude make good sense in our plan of processing, we purchase,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
Responding to the US tariffs, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable.
“Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” it said.
Trump has said that India’s purchasing of Russian oil is “fuelling” the war machine.
Published on August 15, 2025
