India Will Not Bow to Pressure Over Russian Oil: Ex-Diplomat on Trump’s Tariff Move

By A Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 6 — In response to US President Donald Trump’s recent imposition of an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods over the country’s continued purchase of Russian oil, former Indian diplomat Anil Trigunayat has sharply criticized the move, calling it an “arm-twisting tactic” that India will not submit to.

Trigunayat questioned the legitimacy of the US demand, stating, “If you say that India should not buy oil from Russia, can you provide oil at the same price as Russia is doing to us?” Emphasizing India’s sovereign decision-making, he asserted, “Should we not look after our own interests? Our national interest is more important.”

The former envoy also hinted at possible countermeasures from India, saying the country may “reciprocate in certain ways, on certain items.” Although he clarified that he had no direct evidence, he expressed suspicion that the West is uncomfortable with India’s independent rise on the global stage. “It appears to me that the Americans, probably, or the Western countries, are not very happy about India's autonomous rise as a major economic power. And they'll try to do everything possible, unsuccessfully though, to put the brakes on it,” he remarked.