Russia strongly criticized Donald Trump’s new tariffs as 'unjustified and unilateral' while supporting India’s decision to continue crude oil purchases, emphasizing fair trade and cooperation amid rising global economic tensions.
Russia strongly rejected the US decision to impose additional tariffs on India for purchasing Russian crude oil, citing git is 'unjustified' and 'unilateral'. Moscow highlighted that it will continue energy cooperation with New Delhi's, 'notwithstanding external pressure'.
Roman Babushkin, Russia’s deputy chief of mission, addressed the reporters in New Delhi and said that the US has 'weaponized the economy. He assured that Russia will not impose sanctions on India, citing, 'Friends don't do that'.
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US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports for its continued purchase of Russian oil, after Western nations sanctioned Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Babushkin underlined that the US has not imposed additional tariffs on China, despite it being a mega purchaser of Russian oil.
Babushkin also said that Russia has planned a 'special mechanism' to import oil to India without interruptions. India currently imports 40% of its crude oil from Russia at an average 5% discount. Babushkin emphasized that Moscow and New Delhi are aiming to achieve a $100 billion trade by 2030, as Russia encourages more Indian exports of rice, machinery, tea, and pharmaceuticals to balance the trade.
Babushkin further stated that the European sanctions will not impact Moscow a lot and stressed that India is less likely to reduce Russian oil imports. He said, “We are committed to sitting with India to address challenges and remove them.”
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He also mentioned that the two nations are cooperating to develop small and modular nuclear reactors. “Russia is the partner of choice for India… we have jointly developed BrahMos cruise missile and are working on other sophisticated equipment, including jet engines,” he said.
Babushkin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin. However, no dates have been finalized yet.
