Tariffs on India over Russian oil prompted Moscow to seek talks with US: Trump
The comments come ahead of Trump's high-profile meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, scheduled for Friday in Anchorage, Alaska.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Trump said, 'I think everything has an impact," and claimed that when he told 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 second largest, and getting pretty close to China. China is the largest (purchaser 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.
However, AS Sahney, Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country's largest oil firm, has clarified that there is 'no pause" on Russian oil imports, and India's intent to continue buying Russian oil remains unchanged.
'We continue to buy, purely based on economic considerations, that is to say if the pricing and characteristics of the crude make sense in our scheme of processing, we buy," 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. PTI YAS SCY SCY
view comments
First Published:
August 15, 2025, 09:15 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
9 minutes ago
- Mint
Can the US still be Europe's peacemaker?
For over a century, no European peace treaty has been signed without the participation of the United States. Woodrow Wilson's vision shaped the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, and Harry Truman hammered out the post-World War II order with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Potsdam Conference. More recently, in 1995, U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke led the talks that ended the wars in the former Yugoslavia. Perhaps this tradition was on Donald Trump's mind when he agreed to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, among other subjects. After all, the U.S. is a European power, standing at the center of the NATO alliance, and as such its attitudes toward the future of Europe must be taken into account. But when it comes to achieving peace in Ukraine, the summit's chances of success are small. A twofold dilemma confronts the White House. Putin's love of obfuscation and delay makes negotiating with him fiendishly difficult; and the Trump administration's publicly stated desire to reduce America's military presence in Europe undermines its own position from the start. As a result, the summit is more likely to prolong the war than end it. It could even contribute to Ukraine's defeat. Russians are weary after more than three years of fighting, and the war's economic and military toll continues to rise. But when it comes to Ukraine, there are few limits to Putin's zeal, and Russian forces are currently finding success on the battlefield, punching through Ukrainian lines this week. A time may come when Putin will concede that Russia cannot conquer all of Ukraine, the original goal of the 2022 invasion. But there is no reason to think he has reached this point yet. Putin has used negotiations to his advantage before. Russia's war on Ukraine began in 2014, with its annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine. Putin's war aims involved more than the acquisition of territory. His goal was to exert direct control over Ukraine or, at least, to gain veto power over Kyiv's foreign-policy choices. In this sense, the invasion was a failure: Though Russia held on to the Ukrainian territory seized in 2014, it couldn't achieve its political goals. Instead, Kyiv became less politically beholden to Russia after 2014, as a self-evident consequence of invasion. Though the U.S. and Europe condemned Russia's land grab, they didn't intervene militarily, and the economic sanctions they imposed had little effect. In 2014-15, Putin made deals with Ukraine, France and Britain, agreeing to withdraw from Ukrainian territory (excluding Crimea) in exchange for autonomous status for the occupied regions. Putin's goal was to convince the world that his intentions were relatively benign. He had gone into Ukraine, but he would go no further; he was looking for the exits. Putin also has a solid understanding of vanity. He flattered the U.S. and Europe, leading them to believe that by failing to resist Russia militarily they were showing maturity and helping to avoid a world war. In the following years, Russian diplomats attended countless meetings on implementing these collective agreements, and by 2021 France, Germany and the U.S. had restored normal relations with Russia. But Russia never withdrew its soldiers from Ukraine. Putin's pantomime of diplomacy had been nothing but a holding pattern, a prelude to his massive invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This background is crucial for understanding Putin's approach to negotiation and his intentions at the Alaska summit. The Kremlin has expressed pleasure at Putin's meeting with Trump, while remaining deliberately vague about its expectations. Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that he will not cede 'land to the occupier." For Kyiv, the nightmare scenario is that Trump will pressure Ukraine to end the war by ceding some or all of the territory Russia has conquered, legitimizing the invasion and leaving the country vulnerable to renewed aggression in the future. History shows that the U.S. has been successful at concluding wars in Europe when it has participated in them or at least demonstrated military pre-eminence. Wilson joined the leaders of Britain and France at Versailles because American troops had helped defeat Germany in World War I. After World War II, Truman had to share the peacemaking limelight with Stalin, whose armies occupied most of eastern Europe. In the 1990s, the U.S. was free to shape the future of Europe because its uncontested victory in the Cold War made it the world's sole superpower. To end the wars in the former Yugoslavia, Holbrooke invited representatives of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia to negotiate at a U.S. Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio, to telegraph the scope of American air power to the participants. He got his point across. In Ukraine, by contrast, Washington has helped supply Kyiv with weapons but kept away from the fighting. Now the U.S. intends to scale back its commitment. 'We're done with the funding of the Ukraine war business," Vice President JD Vance announced on Aug. 10. For the Trump administration, the war in Ukraine is not an occasion for augmenting American power but for diminishing it, by passing the job of defending Europe back to the Europeans. This doesn't mean that the administration should eschew diplomacy with Russia. Negotiations can be open-ended, and they can benefit from unexpected contingencies. But the Trump team should remember that Putin has every incentive to buy time by engaging in insincere peace talks, as he has often done in the past. Since the U.S. is too distant from the conflict and has too little leverage to force Russia to a settlement, the countries most likely to bring the war to an end are Ukraine and its European partners. For the first time in a century, the U.S. may be more bystander than participant in the denouement of a major European war. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America and the author of 'Collisions: The War in Ukraine and the Origins of the New Global Instability."
Hindustan Times
11 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
₹100 for all prelims, no fee for mains exams in Bihar: CM Nitish Kumar
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday announced a uniform fee of ₹100 for preliminary tests of all competitive exams in the state, while no money will be charged for appearing in the mains. Nitish Kumar announces flat fee of ₹ 100 for prelims of competitive exams in Bihar, mains to be free(PTI) Kumar said this decision will benefit lakhs of youth who aspire for government jobs. Also read: CSBC Bihar Police Constable Answer Key 2025 News Live Updates: Where to check provisional key when released The decision was announced with months left for the assembly elections in the state. "I am pleased to announce that a decision has been made to bring uniformity in the fees for preliminary tests (PT) of competitive examinations conducted by all commissions for state-level government jobs, and to provide significant fee concessions to candidates," the CM said in a post on X in Hindi. "Instructions have been given to charge only ₹100 as the fee for candidates appearing in the preliminary test of the competitive examinations. Candidates who clear the preliminary tests and appear for the mains examinations will no longer have to pay any examination fee," he added. Also read: Nitish directs Bihar edu dept to make provisions for school teachers' postings at desired locations Recruitment examinations for state government jobs are conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission, Bihar Staff Selection Commission, Bihar Technical Service Commission, Bihar Police Subordinate Service Commission, and the Central Constable Selection Board, among others. Kumar said providing government jobs to the state's youth had been the priority of his government since the beginning. Also read: Bihar Staff Selection Commission, BSSC, announces 1481 graduate-level vacancies, apply from August 18 "To provide opportunities to the youth of the state and to secure their future, our government has taken several concrete steps. Now, we have taken this decision in the interest of the youth," he said.
Hindustan Times
11 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Operation Sindoor depiction takes centre stage at Red Fort on Independence Day
While the theme of the 79th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort was 'Naya Bharat' (New India), the highlight of the event was Operation Sindoor, the military offensive conducted by Indian defence forces in May this year. The prime minister's speech was peppered with glimpses of Operation Sindoor, as were the decorations in and around the venue. A large banner reading 'Nation First' with the Operation Sindoor logo in the top right corner formed the backdrop for a display. (PTI file photo) A large banner reading 'Nation First' with the Operation Sindoor logo in the top right corner formed the backdrop for a display in which volunteers dressed in white and orange created the words 'Naya Bharat' when viewed from above. The same logo of the operation was also printed on the official invitation cards for the event. A floral collage spelling out 'Operation Sindoor', adorned with red sindoor motifs, formed part of the decorations. As the national flag was unfurled, two Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopters flew over the Red Fort, both showering flower petals, one alongside the tricolour, the other carrying the Operation Sindoor flag. Also Read:What is the 'Sudarshan Chakra Mission' that PM Modi announced in his I-Day speech? The aircraft were flown by Wing Commanders Vinay Poonia and Aditya Jaiswal. The gesture was intended as a tribute to Operation Sindoor, carried out between May 7 and 10 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people - 25 Indians, 1 Nepali. The three service chiefs who led the operation were present to receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his arrival at the Red Fort. Following an inspection of the Guard of Honour, the PM was joined at the ramparts by defence minister Rajnath Singh, minister of state (MoS) for defence Sanjay Seth, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, and the chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. In his almost 90-minute speech, PM Modi said that India won't tolerate nuclear blackmail and will end what he called the 'injustice' of the Indus Waters Treaty. 'India has decided that blood and water won't flow together,' said the PM. 'The entire nation was seething with anger, and the whole world watched in astonishment. Operation Sindoor emerged from that anger. After April 22, we told our soldiers they had a free hand to decide, plan, time, and choose their targets. Our defence forces did what had never been done before: they went several kilometres into Pakistan and destroyed terrorist camps,' PM Modi said.
