Russia accused the United States of exerting illegal trade pressure on India after US President Donald Trump again threatened to raise tariffs on Indian goods over purchases of Russian oil, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
“We do not consider such statements to be legitimate“, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters today.
“Sovereign states have the right to choose their own trading partners and the forms of trade and economic cooperation that meet their national interests“, he added.
Earlier, Trump announced that from Friday he would impose new sanctions against Russia and against countries that continue to buy Russian energy resources if Moscow does not take action to end the war in Ukraine. However, the Russian leadership did not give any signals about changing its position, the agency notes.
Delhi described Trump's threats as “unjustified“ and stated that India would defend its economic interests. Thus, trade tensions between India and the United States have deepened.
At the end of last week, Indian government sources told the "New York Times" that their country has no intention of stopping purchases of Russian oil despite the risk of sanctions.