'Very well disturbed': Trump says tariffs on India’s Russian oil imports dealt ‘major blow’ to Moscow

Ahead of his forthcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15, US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that American tariffs on India’s purchases of Russian oil have delivered a significant blow to Moscow’s economy.

He described India as one of Russia’s “largest or second-largest oil buyers,” emphasising New Delhi’s pivotal role in the global energy market.

Speaking at a White House press conference, Trump said Russia’s economy was “not doing well” and had been “very well disturbed” by a combination of US trade duties and wider international pressures.

“I think Russia needs to focus on rebuilding their country. It’s an enormous nation with tremendous potential,” Trump said. “Right now, they’re struggling because these tariffs and external pressures have unsettled them deeply,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

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The president singled out India’s energy imports from Russia as a key pressure point in his administration’s strategy.

#WATCH | Washington, DC | On Russia-Ukraine war and meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump says, "This could have been a third world war... I thought it was very respectful that the president of Russia is coming to our country, as opposed to us… pic.twitter.com/rrOyuRkFTG

— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2025

“It doesn’t help when the President of the United States tells their largest or second-largest oil buyer that we’re imposing a 50 per cent tariff on any oil purchased from Russia. That was a major blow,” Trump remarked, in a clear reference to India.

Under the Trump administration, the US has imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on India, along with an additional 25 per cent levy on its Russian oil imports, amounting to a total tariff of 50 per cent. India has strongly criticised the move, calling it “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”

Confirming his meeting with Putin in Alaska this Friday, Trump said: “I think it’s very respectful that the President of Russia is coming to our country instead of us travelling to his or to a neutral location. I expect our conversations to be constructive.”

He added that he would also engage with European leaders after the talks and hopes to facilitate a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump further claimed that during his second term he has resolved five wars and repeated his assertion that he ended the conflict between India and Pakistan. However, India has consistently maintained that the ceasefire agreement with Pakistan was reached through direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations of both nations.