He described India as a ‘laundromat for the Kremlin,’ claiming that Brahmins are benefiting at the expense of citizens.
Photo : AP
US President Donald Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro has launched another attack on India, leveling fresh accusations over its ties with Moscow. After recently dubbing the Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war,” Navarro now called New Delhi a “laundromat for the Kremlin” and accused “Brahmins” of profiteering “at the expense of the Indian people.”
“Look, Modi’s a great leader. I don’t understand why he’s getting into bed with Putin when he’s the biggest democracy in the world. So I would just simply say to the Indian people: please, understand what’s going on here. You’ve got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop. Yeah, and we’ll be watching that closely,” he said during an interview with Fox News.
Reiterating the claim that India’s Russian oil purchase was fueling the Russian war machine, he remarked, “Before Putin invaded Ukraine, India didn’t buy Russian oil to speak of—very, very small amounts. What happened? Now, Russian refiners provide discounts, India refines it, and then sells it at a premium to Europe, Africa, and Asia. It fuels the Russian war machine.”
“They have the highest tariffs in the world. They won’t let us sell to them. So who gets hurt? Workers in America, taxpayers in America, Ukrainians in cities getting killed by Russian drones,” he added.
On China, which continues to be the largest purchaser of Russian energy, Navarro remained optimistic about ongoing trade negotiations. He said the November 10 deadline is realistic, describing high tariffs as “a good thing” for US leverage.
India remains firm on protecting interests
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Ambassador Vinay Kumar have repeatedly reminded Washington that India is acting in its “national interest” and will ensure energy security for 1.4 billion people while stabilising global energy markets.
Jaishankar, on a recent visit to Moscow, said, “See, I will not comment on the person but on the argument. We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil, that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG, that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the South.”
Donald Trump’s additional 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports took effect on Wednesday, August 27. Indian goods now face upto 50 per cent tariffs in the United States.