Senator Lindsey Graham of the United States has publicly asked India to use its “influence” to help President Donald Trump cease the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. The Republican senator’s request came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked on the phone. Graham said he hoped Modi had told Putin to “end this war in Ukraine fairly, honorably, and forever.”
Graham’s words are especially important right now because tensions between the U.S. and India are rising. The U.S. recently threatened to put a 50% tariff on Indian goods coming into the country. This is directly related to India’s continuous purchase of Russian crude oil. Graham, who has been a strong backer of this approach, has already said that countries that do business with Russia will have to pay high taxes. He called India “the second largest buyer of Putin’s cheap oil, which he uses to pay for his war.”
The threat of tariffs from the Trump administration started with a 25% reciprocal charge in July and then another 25% in August, making the total duty on Indian goods 50%. The second section of the tariff will start on August 27th. Trump has been quite critical of countries that buy oil from Russia. He has also said that if a peace deal isn’t achieved, he will impose 100% tariffs and secondary sanctions on those countries.
A call between Modi and Putin in which they talked about what was going on in Ukraine and reiterated their commitment to the India-Russia strategic alliance is considered as a crucial point of reference for Graham’s statements. The U.S. senator wants a certain outcome from the debate, but the Indian government has always said that its oil imports are based on the country’s energy needs and market conditions.
In a another news story, President Trump said he would meet with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15. This suggests that a ceasefire deal with Ukraine may be close to being reached.