A senior aide to US President Donald Trump on Sunday accused India of indirectly funding the Russia-Ukraine conflict by continuing to import oil from Moscow.
This is one of the Trump administration's strongest statements on what India calls its "time-tested" relationship with 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," said Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House and one of Trump's most influential aides, in a conversation with Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures.
Miller's comments come amid the Trump administration's attempts to dissuade India from buying Russian energy.
"People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That's an astonishing fact," he added.
To soften the blow, Miller also noted Trump’s “tremendous" relationship with Indian PM Narendra Modi.
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Following Trump's claims on Saturday that he "heard" unconfirmed reports of India halting oil imports from Russia, Indian government sources told Reuters on the same day that New Delhi would continue to purchase oil from Moscow.
However, no procurement was made last week.
The Indian government on Wednesday responded to US President Donald Trump's imposition of 25 per cent tariffs—in addition to an unspecified secondary penalty—on New Delhi, saying that it was "studying its implications".
"The Government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, as has been the case with other trade agreements including the latest Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the UK," a statement released by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) had said.
The secondary penalty remains unspecified.
Notably, Trump had earlier threatened to impose 100 per cent secondary tariffs on Moscow, as well as nations procuring exports from it, if the Russia-Ukraine conflict were not stopped by (a reduced deadline of) August 8.