The White House has reiterated its claim that India is scaling back Russian oil purchases at President Trump’s request, following similar measures by China. Officials say the sanctions aim to pressure Russia amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Washington DC: United States President Donald Trump has been “increasingly frustrated” with the lack of progress on putting an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday (local time) during a press briefing here.
Following the peace deal in the Middle East and the end of the Israel-Palestine war, Leavitt expressed confidence in the newly imposed “hefty” sanctions on Russian oil companies, repeating the claim that India, along with other countries, will scale back oil purchases from the country.
“If you read the sanctions and look at them, they are pretty hefty. I saw some international news this morning that China is scaling back oil purchases from Russia. We know India has done the same at the President’s request. President has also pushed European countries, our allies, to please stop their purchases of Russian oil as well”, Leavitt told reporters during the White House press briefing.
However, India denies any agreement, emphasising its priority to safeguard consumer interests. The country’s energy policy prioritises stable prices and secure supplies. This comes in the backdrop of Trump imposing 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, urging New Delhi to diversify energy sources.
“It is a full court press for sure, and we expect that these sanctions are going to do harm, as the Secretary of the Treasury said yesterday,” she added.
Talking about President Trump being “frustrated” with President Putin, claiming that the Russian side is not showing “enough interest or action” to move towards a peace deal. This frustration has been apparent, as a meeting between the two leaders that was supposed to take place has been postponed indefinitely after Russia rejected the US’s ceasefire proposal.
“The president has always maintained that he would implement sanctions on Russia when he felt it was appropriate and necessary. Yesterday was that day. The president has also long expressed his frustration with Vladimir Putin and both sides of this war (Russia-Ukraine). He’s always said that to negotiate a good peace deal, both sides need to be interested in it. He feels, unfortunately, that on the Russian side, as of late, he has not seen enough interest or action in moving the ball forward towards peace,” Leavitt told presspersons.
The press secretary, however, said that the meeting between Trump and Putin is “not completely off the table,” but that the meeting should have a “tangible positive outcome.”
“A meeting between these two leaders (Trump-Putin) is not completely off the table. The president and the entire administration hope that it can happen again one day. But we want to make sure that there’s a tangible positive outcome out of that meeting and that it’s a good use of the president’s time,” she said.
Talking about how President Trump is hoping to see “action, not just talk”, Leavitt added, “The president wants to make sure that a meeting between himself and President Putin will be a good use of his time… The president wants to see action, not just talk. The president is extremely motivated by the success of his Middle East peace deal to get things done. And he wants this war to end. He’s been saying it for nine months now, since being in office. And he’s grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress.”
Meanwhile, the US has imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.
Putin accused the United States of repeatedly using sanctions to exert pressure, saying such tactics would fail. He also hinted that “certain people in the US administration” had pushed for restrictions on Russian oil exports, questioning whose interests they truly work for.
He described the sanctions as an “unfriendly move” that would not help relations between Moscow and Washington. He said the new restrictions would have little effect on Russia’s economy, adding, “No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure, ” Russia Today reported.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed)