A senior aide to US President Donald Trump has accused India of helping to finance Russia’s war in Ukraine by continuing to buy oil from Moscow, as Washington ramps up pressure on New Delhi to halt its purchases.
“What he [Trump] said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing oil from Russia,” said Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and one of Trump's most influential advisers. Miller’s comments, made on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, marked one of the Trump administration’s sharpest criticisms yet of a key Indo-Pacific partner.
“People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That’s an astonishing fact,” Miller said.
Indian government sources, quoted by multiple media outlets on Saturday, said New Delhi would continue to import oil from Russia despite threats of US sanctions.
Trump on Sunday also said his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, may travel to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday. He warned that sanctions would be imposed if Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine before Friday. “There’ll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions,” Trump told reporters. “They’re wily characters, and they’re pretty good at avoiding sanctions, so we’ll see what happens.”
Trump has threatened 100 per cent tariffs on US imports from countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine.
