Washington, DC [US], August 28 : White House Trade Advisor Peter Novarro has referred to the Russia-Ukraine conflict as "PM Modi's war," criticising India for purchasing discounted crude oil from Moscow.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Novarro blamed India for being the reason behind the US and Europe funding Ukraine against Russia's aggression.
"Ukraine comes to us and Europe and says give us more money (for its war). Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing. Consumers and businesses lose, workers lose because India's high tariffs cause jobs, income and higher wages. The taxpayer lose because we got to fund Modi's war." Novarro told Bloomberg.
He added, "The road to peace runs atleast partly through New Delhi."
The White House trade advisor further termed India "arrogant" over prioritising its energy needs and advised it to "side with democracies."
"The Indians are so arrogant about this. They say we don't have higher tariffs. It's our sovereignty. We can buy oil from anyone we want. India, you're the biggest democracy in the world. Okay? Act like one. Side with the democracies," Navarro said.
Navarro further attacked India for smoothening its ties with China, expressing his frustration over India's growing relations with Moscow and Beijing, whom he labelled as "authoritarians."
"You're getting in bed with the authoritarians. China, you've been at quiet war with them for decades. They invaded Aksai Chin and all your territory. These are not your friends, folks. Okay? And the Russians, I mean, come on," Navarro told Bloomberg.
Navarro's remarks come after the 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods imposed by the Donald Trump administration came into force on Wednesday. Of the 50 per cent tariffs, 25 per cent are imposed because of India's continued purchases of Russian oil and military equipment, which the Ministry of External Affairs has described as "extremely unfortunate" and reiterated its stand to protect its national interest.
"In an official statement, the MEA said, "The United States has in recent days targeted India's oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India."
"It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest," the statement added.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has also responded to criticism of India by American officials for its energy ties with Russia, and said the US itself had asked New Delhi to help stabilise global energy markets by buying Russian oil.
Jaishankar called out the US logic to impose tariffs on India, despite China being the biggest purchaser of Russian oil and the EU being the biggest purchaser of LNG.
"We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil; that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG, that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the South. We are a country where the Americans have said for the last few years that we should do everything to stabilise the world energy market, including buying oil from Russia. Incidentally, we also buy oil from the US, and that amount has increased. So honestly, we are very perplexed at the logic of the argument that you (the media) had referred to..." Jaishankar had said in response to a query during a joint press briefing with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
Not just Indians but US politicians and economists have also responded to US efforts to strong-arm New Delhi.
Earlier, renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs had strongly criticised the US administration's decision to impose steep tariffs on India, calling them "bizarre" and "very self-destructive of US foreign policy interests".
In a recent interview with ANI, Sachs expressed concerns that these tariffs will undermine years of efforts to strengthen US-India relations. Sachs described the tariffs as "not a strategy, but sabotage" and the "stupidest tactical move in US foreign policy", which has unified the BRICS countries like never before.
Nikki Haley, former US Ambassador to the United Nations, has emphasised the importance of treating India as a "prized free and democratic partner" in the global effort to counter China's growing influence. In her opinion piece on Newsweek, she warned that damaging the 25-year momentum in US-India relations would be a "strategic disaster."
She urged Donald Trump to "reverse the downward spiral" and hold direct talks with PM Modi. "The sooner the better," she said.
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