India ‘financing’ Ukraine conflict – Trump aide

Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has accused New Delhi of “effectively” financing Russia's conflict with Ukraine by purchasing oil from Moscow.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Miller addressed Washington’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on imports from India, plus impose an undisclosed penalty on the South Asian nation for its defense and trade ties with Russia.

”What he (Trump) said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia,” Miller told Fox News. “People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That's an astonishing fact.”

Last week, Trump attacked New Delhi for its ties to Moscow in a post on his Truth Social account. “I don’t care what India does with Russia,” he said. “They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world.” 

The US president has also threatened 100% tariffs on exports from countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. 

READ MORE: Sanction first, ally later: India learns the cost of trusting the US

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized India for continuing to import the discounted oil despite Western sanctions, claiming New Delhi was “helping to sustain the Russian war effort.” Rubio, in a Fox Radio interview on Thursday called India's energy trade with Russia “a point of irritation” in Washington's relationship with New Delhi.

New Delhi has defended its decision to ramp up purchases of Russian oil despite enormous pressure from the West, by arguing that it has helped global markets avoid sharp increases in crude prices.