Trump imposed tariffs on India to deter Russia's war in Ukraine: Leavitt

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday (local time) said that US President Donald Trump imposed additional 25 per cent tariffs on India to stop Russia from pursuing war in Ukraine.

Trump doubled India's tariff rate to 50 per cent for its continuous purchase of Russian energy at a time when the US President has been trying to broker a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Leavitt made these remarks during the press briefing and said, "Look, the president has put tremendous public pressure to bring this war to a close. He's taken actions, as you've seen, sanctions on India and other actions as well. He's made himself very clear that he wants to see this war end, and he has scoffed at the ideas of others that have been raised that we should wait another month before any meeting takes place."

Trump meets Ukrainian President, European leaders

On Monday, Trump met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and seven European leaders at the White House, discussing ways to put an end to the war in Ukraine. Speaking on Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy, Leavitt said that Trump wishes to bring peace as soon as possible. She further said, "The president wants to move and he wants to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible... With all of those European leaders leaving the White House, including the NATO Secretary General, they all agree that this is a great first step. And it's a good thing that these two leaders are going to be sitting down together, and the president expects that to happen."

Leavitt also reiterated the White House's claim that if Trump were president, the war would never have happened. She also highlighted Trump's dedication to ending the war, adding that the US President has spent a lot of time and energy on this effort.

Leveraged trade to stop India-Pakistan conflict: Trump

Leavitt also reiterated Trump's previous claim of brokering peace between India and Pakistan following the tensions that emerged after Operation Sindoor (a coordinated missile strike at terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir).

Speaking during the press briefing, she said that the US President Trump was proud of the peace deals and leveraged trade to end the Indo-Pakistan conflict after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. She said, "[For] India and Pakistan [conflict], he [Trump] used trade in a very powerful way as leverage to bring that conflict to an end. So I know he's very proud of all of these achievements, and I know he's very honoured to serve as the president of the United States and to restore peace around the world."

Ever since India and Pakistan agreed to an understanding to stop all firing and military actions in May, Trump has repeatedly claimed that he was able to stop the conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. While India has consistently denied any interference, Pakistan's Army chief Asim Munir thanked Trump for stopping the conflict.