Russia, Moscow: The Kremlin has officially condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest threats against India, calling them “illegal.” The declaration comes only one day after Trump said he would “substantially” hike taxes on Indian goods if New Delhi didn’t stop buying Russian energy.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, told reporters on Tuesday, “We hear a lot of statements that are really threats, trying to get countries to stop trading with Russia.” We don’t think these kinds of remarks are legal. He stressed that independent countries have the right to choose their own trading partners and ways to work together economically that are best for their own interests. Peskov said that putting pressure on Russia’s trading partners like this will be seen as “threats.”
After a heated argument between the U.S. and India, Moscow reacted strongly. In a social media statement on Monday, President Trump warned that India doesn’t care about the lives lost in Ukraine and is making money by selling Russian energy. India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly criticized this, saying that targeting New Delhi was “unjustified and unreasonable.”
The MEA’s statement pointed out the “double standards” of the U.S. and E.U. because they both still trade with Russia. It said that India, as a big economy, “will take all necessary steps to protect its national interests and economic security.”
President Trump’s most recent warning of tariffs comes after the U.S. put a 25% tariff on some Indian goods on August 1. This was because India had the “highest in the world” levies on American goods.
The rising hostility has made a complicated political position even worse, with both Russia and India defending their trade ties against pressure from the U.S. and its allies.