Republican leader Nikki Haley on Saturday said that India is needed by the United States to face China, while also asking New Delhi to take US President Donald Trump's points on Russian oil ‘seriously’.
Haley's statement comes amid a row over Trump's tariffs on India and New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil as the Ukraine war rages on. The former US ambassador to the UN said that decades of friendship and goodwill between the world's two largest democracies provide a solid basis to move past the current turbulence.
“India must take Trump's point over Russian oil seriously, and work with the White House to find a solution. The sooner the better. Decades of friendship and goodwill between the world's two largest democracies provide a solid basis to move past the current turbulence,” Haley wrote on X.
Haley, who was among the Republican candidates for the US presidential elections, said that to face China, the United States must have a friend in India.
{{/usCountry}}Haley, who was among the Republican candidates for the US presidential elections, said that to face China, the United States must have a friend in India.
{{/usCountry}}“Navigating issues like trade disagreements and Russian oil imports demands hard dialogue. But, we should not lose sight of what matters most: our shared goals. To face China, the United States must have a friend in India,” she added.
Donald Trump's tariffs and the Russian oil issue
Indian goods face additional US tariffs of up to 50 percent —among the steepest penalties imposed by the Donald Trump administration— linked to New Delhi’s growing energy trade with Moscow.
While a 25 percent tariff is already in force, another 25 percent tariff is set to take effect on August 27.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday strongly defended India’s energy choices, asserting that New Delhi would continue to make decisions in line with its national interest and strategic autonomy, despite growing international scrutiny, including Donald Trump's tariff threats, over its Russian crude oil purchase.
“It is presented as an oil issue, but it’s still not applied to the largest importer, China. Arguments used to target India have not been applied to China,” the external affairs minister said.
Stressing that India alone would decide its course, he added, “At the end of it all, we make decisions that are in national interest.”