Trump fires salvo at India-Russia ties, hails rumored oil pullback as 'good step'

US President Donald Trump has sharply escalated his criticism of India’s trade and strategic ties with Russia, declaring that he has "heard" India has stopped buying oil from Moscow — a move he welcomed as a “good step,” while simultaneously blasting New Delhi for its high tariffs and military imports from Russia.

“Well, I understand India no longer is going to be buying oil from Russia. That’s what I heard. I don’t know if that’s right or not, but that’s a good step. We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters on August 1, offering no evidence to back the claim.

His remarks came just a day after the Biden administration imposed sweeping tariffs on exports from about 70 countries, including a 25% levy on Indian goods. Although the White House did not spell out punitive measures linked to India's defense or energy dealings with Russia, Trump had earlier warned of an unspecified "penalty" India would face over those ties.

The Ministry of External Affairs, asked to confirm whether Indian oil firms had indeed halted purchases from Russia in the past week, offered a cautious response. “We take decisions based on the price at which oil is available in the international market and depending on the global situation at that time,”

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at a briefing on August 1said. “As for the specifics of your particular question, I am not aware of it. I don’t have details of these specifics.”

Trump’s broader criticism was scathing and sweeping. Accusing India of imposing some of the highest tariffs in the world, he said the US has had “relatively little business” with India as a result of what he described as “strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers.”

He also lashed out at India’s deep defense and energy partnership with Russia. “They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia and are Russia’s largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine — All things not good!” Trump said.

In a provocative post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump went further: “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”

The remarks are likely to add fresh strain to an already sensitive diplomatic balance between Washington and New Delhi, particularly as India continues to walk a tightrope between Western strategic partnerships and its legacy defense ties with Moscow.

Context: India’s Russian oil imports

India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, significantly increased its purchase of discounted Russian crude following the Ukraine war, despite Western sanctions and pressure to scale back. The move has drawn criticism from both Washington and European allies, even as New Delhi has repeatedly defended its energy strategy as dictated by national interest and market economics.

As global geopolitics continues to shift, Trump’s sharp rhetoric signals that US-India relations could face renewed challenges — especially if he returns to the White House in 2025.