Russia Backs India, Warns Trump: Respect Sovereign Nations' Trade Choices

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): India gave a befitting reply to US President Donald Trump's threat of increasing tariffs. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called it irrational and inappropriate. Russian media has praised India's stand. While US tariffs on India have been labelled a hypocritical policy, the Kremlin has also supported India.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on this on Tuesday. He said that any sovereign country has the right to choose its trading partners. He also called the US President's statement a threat. He said, "We hear many such statements which are actually threats, attempts to force countries to break trade relations with Russia. We do not consider such statements legal." At the same time, Russian media prominently published Randhir Jaiswal's statement. Russia Today gave the title - India hits back at Western countries on Russia's oil trade hypocrisy. This entire article mentions the answer given by India to Trump. It is written - The Indian Foreign Ministry exposed America's double standards and told through data that the European Union and America trade with Moscow and are imposing unjust sanctions on other countries.

Then there is a mention of those 6 points on the basis of which Randhir Jaiswal has clarified India's stand. Let us tell you that on Monday, India showed the mirror to Trump. Terming his threat as unfair and irrational, the Indian Foreign Ministry said that 'America still imports uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for the electric vehicle industry, fertilizers and chemicals from Russia.' He said that like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to protect its national interests and economic security. Targeting us for this is unfair and unreasonable. Presenting the figures, the spokesperson said, "The EU had traded goods worth 67.5 billion euros with Russia in 2024 and services worth 17.2 billion euros in 2023. This is more than India's total trade with Moscow. Last year, European countries also imported Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) reaching a record 16.5 million tonnes, which included trade in fertilizers, chemicals, steel and machinery in addition to energy."

India also said that the US continues to import key commodities from Russia, including uranium for nuclear plants, palladium for electric vehicles, and various chemicals and fertilizers. Earlier, US President Donald Trump on Monday warned that he would increase tariffs on India. He threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on countries trading with Russia if Moscow did not agree to a major peace deal with Ukraine.

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