'Unjustified, unilateral': Russia slams Trump tariffs, backs India over crude oil purchase

RUssia on midweek dismissed the US tariffs on bharat o'er its procural of Russian rough oil as “unjustified and unilateral”, stressing that Moscow and New Delhi would continue energy cooperation “notwithstanding external pressure”.Briefing reporters in New Delhi, deputy chief of mission Roman Babushkin said the US has “weaponised the economy” but added, “friends do not impose sanctions, and Russia will never impose sanctions on India".President Donald Trump said the US is set to impose an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports on August 27, citing their imports of Russian oil, which expanded after Western nations sanction Russian supply after its invasion of Ukraine.However, the US has stopped short of imposing similar tariffs on China over its purchases of Russian oil.He underlined that Russia has created a “special mechanism” to ensure uninterrupted crude supplies to India, which currently sources around 40 per cent of its oil needs from Moscow at an average discount of 5 per cent.The Russian official said India and Russia are on track to achieve the target of $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030, noting that Moscow is working to reduce the trade imbalance by boosting Indian exports of machinery, pharmaceuticals, tea and rice. Russia, he added, remained one of India’s largest suppliers of energy and fertilisers.On Western sanctions, Babushkin said the European Union’s latest package will have little impact on Russia and reiterated that India is unlikely to stop Russian oil purchases.“We are committed to sit with India to address challenges and remove them,” he said, while also revealing that the two countries are in advanced talks on small and modular nuclear reactors.“Russia is the partner of choice for India in India, have jointly developed BrahMos cruise missile, are working on other sophisticated equipment, including jet engines,” Babushkin said.Babushkin noted that President Vladimir Putin had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice on the situation in Ukraine, adding, “India matters very much to us.”Babushkin welcomes Chinese foreign minister's visit to IndiaOn geopolitical issues, Babushkin welcomed the “very successful” visit of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to India, describing the Russia-India-China mechanism as an important platform.“We hope it will be resumed sooner rather than later,” he said.He confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, though no dates have been set for Putin’s visit to India.