China, India key funders of Ukraine war through Russian oil purchase: Trump

This is not the first time Trump has made such claims. However, New Delhi has repeatedly rejected them, emphasising that its purchases are essential for energy security

United States (US) President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India and China are the primary funders of the ongoing war in Ukraine through their purchases of Russian oil. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, he said, “But even North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries have not cut off Russian products, I found out about that two weeks ago. I was not happy.”

 

Earlier this year, Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent punitive tariff on Indian goods, adding to the 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs he introduced in July, on the grounds that India's purchase of Russian crude was helping fund the war against Ukraine. 

Claims of brokering India-Pak peace

At the UNGA, Trump also repeated his claim that he was instrumental in stopping the recent conflict between India and Pakistan. "I ended seven wars, and in all cases, they were raging, with countless thousands of people being killed. This includes Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda, a vicious, violent war that was, Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he said. 

 

 

On this, too, India has consistently denied Trump's involvement in the stoppage of the conflict, reiterating that it was Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) who reached out to his counterpart to ask for a ceasefire. India initiated Operation Sindoor, a military response to the killing of 26 Indians in a terror attack in Pahalgam, striking terrorist-training centres across the border. Pakistan responded with a barrage of air, drone, and missile attacks targeting Indian civilian populations, following which India hit key Pakistani military, mostly air force, installations, effectively grounding that country's air force and establising complete air superiority. 

Trade talks slip on Russian crude allegations

New Delhi has repeatedly rejected his allegations, emphasising that its purchases are essential for energy security. Moreover, despite tariffs and repeated assertions by the Trump administration, India’s oil imports from Russia have largely remained steady. India has also pointed out that the US had earlier actively encouraged it to buy discounted Russian crude in an effort to keep global oil markets stable and to prevent any sudden surge in crude prices.   The unilateral tariffs have also had an impact on trade talks between the two democracies that had been ongoing since Trump announced he would be imposing reciprocal tariffs on most of the US' trading partners. An eighth round of talks scheduled in New Delhi was called off after the imposition of the additional tariffs, and Trump's subsequent comments about India being a 'dead economy'. US officials, including Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro, later went on an extended diatribe against India over its purchase of Russian crude.   Both Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, seemed to soften their stance later, resulting in the resumption of trade talks, which had failed to reach a conclusion over the US' insistence on exporting agri and dairy products, both of which are politically and economically sensitive areas for India.   Commerce Ministry Piyush Goyal is currently visiting the US for further discussions to the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) talks further. A few hours before Trump's speech, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "a lot of progress" was made on the subject of New Delhi's Russian oil purchases during his meeting with India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the sidelines of the UNGA.