Washington: US President Donald Trump has stated that America’s steep tariffs on India over its import of Russian oil have dealt a “big blow” to Moscow’s economy, which he said was not performing well. Speaking from the White House, Trump claimed Russia’s economy has been severely disrupted due to ongoing global pressures and the imposition of US tariffs on several countries, including India.
“I think Russia has to get back into building their country. It’s a massive country… They have tremendous potential in Russia to do well. They’re not doing well. Their economy is not doing well right now because it’s been very well disturbed by this,” he said.
“Doesn’t help when the President of the United States tells their largest or second-largest oil buyer that we’re putting a 50 per cent tariff on you if you buy oil from Russia. That was a big blow,” Trump said, in an apparent reference to India.
He went on to declare, “No one else would have been so tough, and I haven’t stopped there.” The remarks came days after Trump called New Delhi and Moscow dead economies.
The United States has slapped 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India, along with an additional 25 per cent levy on its purchases of Russian oil, resulting in a total of 50 per cent duties.
The US leader claimed his tariffs have helped the US not only generate revenue, but also in “solving” five wars, including military conflict between India and Pakistan.
“The tariffs have helped, gives us not only the money, but it gives us great power over enemies. We solved five wars- Pakistan and India. Azerbaijan and Armenia- it was raging for 37 years, and the two leaders got up and they said, we never thought this would be solved. Russia tried to solve it. They all tried to solve it. It was a very tough situation, but we got it done,” he said.
When asked if he sees a time when the US and Russia can have normal trade relations, Trump said it could be a possibility if Moscow leaves the path of war.
“Russia has a very valuable piece of land. If Vladimir Putin would go toward business instead of toward war, you know, it’s a warring nation. That’s what they do. They fight a lot of wars. A friend of mine said Russia is tough because they just keep on fighting. They beat Hitler. So did we,” he said.
On the possibility of a truce between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said, “Well, we’re going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin. And at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made.”
