Washington/New Delhi: While criticising a proposal by the Donald Trump administration to impose 100% tariffs on Indian exports, American foreign policy author Michael Kugelman has said that no non-Western leader has tried more to convince Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the war with Ukraine than Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
His remarks came in the wake of the passage of the Russia Sanctions bill in the US House of Representatives, which gives a final congressional green light to the Trump administration’s effort to bring Moscow to the negotiating table to end the war with Ukraine, as reported by News18.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: No non-Western leader has done more to try to get Putin to end his war than Modi. He hasn’t succeeded, but no other figure outside the West has tried more,” Kugelman posted on X.
The new Russia Sanctions bill might serve as the “biggest” blow to US-India ties, he said.
“In a year-plus of big blows to US-India ties, the new Russia sanctions bill may be the biggest yet. Also a risk the US may hit India harder w/tariffs than China. It has previously, even though China buys more Russian oil. USG knows China has massive leverage over global economy,” he posted.
On Wednesday, US lawmakers passed a new legislation aimed at squeezing Russia over its war in Ukraine. Trump has also signed the document that allows the US to impose up to 100% tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil.
India and China are among the largest buyers of Russian crude oil.
New Delhi, meanwhile, asserted that any decision on its energy purchased will solely be based on national interests. New Delhi said that it noted the passage of the legislation, adding that it would continue to monitor developments on the matter.
“As stated on several earlier occasions, India remains firmly committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people. It will continue to do so through diversified sourcing and on the basis of evolving market dynamics,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.