US President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that the United States and Russia had made "a lot of progress" in efforts to bring the Ukraine conflict to an end—remarks that came just hours after he imposed a steep new tariff on India, hinting that the move might have played a role in the diplomatic developments.
"We imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India," Trump said, citing the sum of an earlier 25% tax and a new 25% penalty announced Wednesday for India's ongoing imports of Russian oil. "I don't know if that had any bearing on it, but we've had very good negotiations today," he said, citing recent talks with Moscow.
The Indian government, in response, criticized the latest tariff escalation as "unfortunate," pledging to "take all actions necessary to protect its national interests."
When questioned whether these sanctions would be lifted if Russia agreed to end the war, Trump didn’t rule it out. "We'll determine that later, but right now, they're paying a 50 per cent tariff," he told reporters.
These are all coming amid a high-level discussion that took place today between a special envoy from Mr. Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The president said this was a "three-hour discussion," during which both parties called it "constructive."
Mr. Trump noted the sanctions may have to do with the peace that could be seen in Ukraine, saying, "We had some very good talks with President Putin today." He added there was "a very good chance" the talks were nearing a breakthrough.
He also left the door open for the possibility of a three-way summit with himself, Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to further push the peace process.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Yury Ushakov described the Witkoff-Putin meeting as "a rather useful and constructive conversation."
The just-announced tariff on Indian imports of oil is set to take effect in 21 days. Trump referred to India as the "second largest" importer of Russian oil, "very close to China," emphasizing its pivotal position among Moscow's energy sales.
Questioned why India was being hit when other countries like China also still import Russian oil, Trump subtly suggested that Beijing could be next.
"It can be done. I mean, I don't know. I can't say yet, but I can (impose a punitive tariff). We did it with India. We're doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China," he said.
New Delhi, in a quick riposte, declared that it was "extremely unfortunate" the US was punishing India for actions that "several other nations are also adopting in their own national interest."
Although Trump previously stated secondary sanctions would be placed on all Russian oil purchasers broadly, India is the sole nation directly affected by this new action.
In a post on social media, Trump blamed India for re-exporting Russian crude-based refined products at higher prices. "India is not only purchasing huge quantities of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling on the Open Market for tremendous profits. They don't care about how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine," he said on Truth Social.
India has, however, justified its energy policy, asserting that its acquisitions are subject to "market factors" and informed by the "larger goal of securing the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians."
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