Russia has decried former President of the United States Donald Trump‘s warning to India concerning oil trade with Moscow and termed such pressure tactics ‘illegal’ and unacceptable. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who stated this on Tuesday, reiterated that sovereign nations have rights over their own trade relationships, and threats from outside to influence any decision by that country were neither appropriate nor coercive.
Kremlin defends India’s trade sovereignty
Peskov made it clear that such language was very low in Russian perception because the US threatened an increase in import duties on India in response to its fuel purchases from Russia. “Such opinions cannot be considered legal. Countries must be free to carry out trade and economic cooperation in ways that are best suited to their own national interests,” Peskov asserted.
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India Reprimands US Increased Tariffs
Trump’s controversial statement has attracted ire from countries as India profited from oil sales in Russia while ignoring the human cost the war imposed on the war in Ukraine. In response, the Indian sad government made a strong rebuttal, saying the criticism from the US and EU was “unjustified and unreasonable.” The ministry emphasized that India will always put its national interest and economic security first.
August 1 saw Washington levy a 25% tariff on Indian products, to which Trump attributed India’s so-called “highest tariffs in the world”, on American products. This is just one measure among many that emerge from a systematic and increasing tension in trade and different geopolitical strategies between the two nations, particularly with regard to how Russia plays in global oil markets.
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