POTUS Trump's Official Warns India on Russian Oil Imports Even as He Hails 'Tremendous' Ties With Indian PM Modi Amid Tariff Storm
A fresh diplomatic chill is gripping India-US relations after senior Trump administration official Stephen Miller delivered one of the sharpest rebukes yet over India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
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“What he (Trump) said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing oil from Russia,” Miller stated.
He called the scale of Indian imports “astonishing,” and pointing out that India is now nearly tied with China in terms of volume of Russian oil bought.
The statement reflects a hardening tone from the Trump administration, which has steadily ramped up pressure on US allies to isolate Russia both economically and diplomatically.
Trump, returning to office for a second term, has revived his signature style of economic coercion, levying a 25% tariff on Indian goods just last Friday in retaliation for India's energy and military trade with Moscow.
The White House has also threatened tariffs as high as 100% on imports from countries continuing such transactions unless Russia agrees to a significant peace settlement with Ukraine.
Despite the diplomatic heat and economic penalties, New Delhi has so far shown no signs of reversing course. Indian refineries continue to process discounted Russian crude, viewing it as essential for national energy security and for taming inflation amid global supply fluctuations.
Trump’s rhetoric hasn’t spared India’s broader alignment with Russia either. Last week, the US President called both India and Russia “dead economies” while making it clear that he has little regard for their bilateral ties.
His administration has openly voiced displeasure over India’s involvement in BRICS and its abstention from several Western-backed UN resolutions targeting Moscow.
The friction comes even as trade talks between India and the US remain ongoing behind closed doors, highlighting the complex balancing act New Delhi is attempting between maintaining strategic autonomy and navigating the economic coercion from Washington.
However, Miller tempered his criticism with a diplomatic olive branch, calling Trump’s relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “tremendous,” signaling that channels remain open for negotiation.
Yet this comment did little to soften the blow of Trump’s earlier threats or the escalating tariffs which are already prompting ripples across Indian export sectors, including textiles and pharmaceuticals.
The developments mark a defining moment in the recalibration of Indo-US ties in Trump’s second term.
New Delhi finds itself walking an increasingly narrow tightrope that demands preserving its strategic independence while managing rising American impatience over its engagement with Russia.