US President Donald Trump’s close aide Lindsey Graham issued an open warning to India, China and Brazil over maintaining trade ties with Russia and said their economies will be crushed. The US Senator, while speaking on Live TV, said if countries don’t stop buying oil from Russia, they will face even higher tariffs.
He claimed that the Trump administration was planning to impose a 100 per cent tariff on oil-related imports. He further highlighted that these three countries account for nearly 80 per cent of Russia’s crude oil exports, arguing that their purchases are helping to bankroll Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
“Trump is going to impose tariffs on people that buy Russian oil – China, India, and Brazil… Here’s what I would tell China, India and Brazil: If you keep buying cheap Russian oil to allow this war to continue, we’re going to tear up the hell out of you, and we’re going to crush your economy,” Graham said during an interview with Fox News.
Graham is the same Republican lawmaker who had earlier proposed a bill calling for 500 per cent tariffs on goods from countries continuing to trade with Russia, including India and China.
In a direct message to Putin, Graham said, “You have played President Trump at your own peril. You made a major league mistake, and your economy is going to continue to be crushed. We’re flowing weapons to Ukraine, so Ukraine will have the weapons to fight Putin back.”
The Republican Senator accused Vladimir Putin of trying to revive the Soviet Union by invading sovereign nations.
“Putin wants to take countries that are not his. In the mid-90s, Ukraine gave up 1,700 nuclear weapons with a promise that their sovereignty would be respected by Russia. Putin broke that promise.”
INDIA’S STANCE
India has always maintained that it will take a call that best suits the interests of its people. Most recently, when Nato secretary general Mark Rutte’s warned of possible secondary sanctions against countries buying Russian oil, the Ministry of External Affairs made it clear that energy needs are India’s priority.
“We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments. Let me reiterate, and I have said this in the past as well, securing the energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us,” ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
“In this endeavour, we are guided by what is there on offer in the markets, as also by prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter,” Jaiswal added.
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