White House asking Europe to tariff India like US over Russian oil trade: Sources

The White House has asked European nations to adopt sanctions similar to those already imposed on India by the US, including putting a complete halt to all oil and gas that it purchases from New Delhi, sources told India Today.

The Trump administration also wants Europe to levy secondary tariffs on India, just like the US had warned to do if New Delhi did not stop buying oil from Moscow, they added.

This came amid India’s constant objection to 50 per cent tariffs levied on it by US President Donald Trump for "buying" Russian crude, and calling out the West’s hypocrisy, saying while China is the biggest buyer of Russian oil, Europe has continuously bought energy products from Moscow, and both have escaped the “tariff treatment” New Delhi has been subjected to.

The US has accused India of "fuelling" Russia’s war in Ukraine by funding Moscow as it continues buying Russian crude.

The sources also claimed that senior White House officials believe some European leaders are publicly supporting President Trump's effort to end the war in Ukraine, while quietly trying to undo behind-the-scenes progress since the Trump-Putin Alaska summit.

Notably, while the US has been particularly harsh on India for, as Washington claims, buying Russian oil and is "profiteering" from it, most European nations have been largely mum on the issue and have not openly advocated or opposed Trump’s tariff move.

"White House officials are losing patience with European leaders, whom they claim are pushing Ukraine to hold out for unrealistic territorial concessions by Russia," a top Oval Office source told India Today.

The Europeans are said to be pushing Zelensky to hold out for a "better deal" — a maximalist approach that has exacerbated the war, Trump's inner circle argues, the sources maintained.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are going to hold talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SC) summit in Tianjin over the next two days.

Trump tariffs on India and Russia's war in Ukraine are likely to constitute a significant portion of the discussions in Tianjin.

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