Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been performing a tricky balancing act – maintaining close partnerships with US President Donald Trump and Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin while insisting his country is a neutral party in the Russia-Ukraine war, to the dismay of Western nations who have sanctioned Moscow.
But now, it seems, Trump has lost his patience – demanding that Modi finally pick a side, and using India’s continued purchases of cheap Russian oil as leverage in his trade war.
The conundrum pits Trump and Modi, two nationalist leaders who have often described their friendship in warm terms, increasingly against each other. “Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!” Trump wrote on Truth Social last week.
But for Modi, it’s not so simple. While many other countries have scrambled to strike trade deals with the Trump administration, India – the world’s fourth largest economy – has pushed back defiantly, saying it is being unfairly targeted and calling the measure “unjustified.” Delhi is buying Russian oil at a heavy discount, “which otherwise would not have been given by the traditional oil and gas suppliers,” said Amitabh Singh, associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies.
He added that India’s continuing purchases were “a purely economic or commercial decision” – something Indian authorities have also argued, but which has been met with derision and anger from Ukraine and its supporters.
While India has diversified its oil sources over the years, cutting out Russian oil entirely would leave a gaping hole that’s hard to replace.
Source: Here