Road to Russia-Ukraine peace goes through Delhi: US Trade Adviser Navarro

White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro on Thursday (local time) claimed that India does not want to recognise its role in the bloodshed, adding that the road to peace runs through New Delhi.

Speaking with PBS News, Navarro said, "India doesn't appear to want to recognise its role in the bloodshed... It's cosying up to Xi Jinping (Chinese President). They (India) don't need the (Russian) oil. It's a refining profiteering scheme. It's a laundromat for the Kremlin. I love India. Modi is a great leader, but please, India, look at your role in the global economy. What you're doing right now is not creating peace. It's perpetuating the war."

Road to peace runs through New Delhi: Navarro

The White House trade adviser said that the road to peace runs through New Delhi. Elaborating further, he said that India uses the money it makes from Americans when New Delhi exports goods to Washington, which is then used to purchase Russian oil. The Russians use that money to build more arms and kill Ukrainians, after which the American taxpayers have to provide more aid, military weapons to the Ukrainians to protect themselves.

India cozying up to Chinese President, alleges Navarro

Navarro also accused India of cozying up to Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding that the country is also acting as a "laundromat for the Kremlin" by purchasing discounted Russian crude oil, refining it, and selling the products at a premium globally

Navarro targets India's 'Maharaja' tariffs

Commenting on the second tranche of 25 per cent India tariffs that are expected to come into effect on August 27, Navarro stated, "In India, 25 per cent tariffs were put in place because they cheat us on trade. Then 25 per cent because of the Russian oil... They have higher tariffs, Maharaja tariffs... We run a massive trade deficit with them. So that hurts American workers and businesses."

Navarro targets India's Russian oil purchase

This comes after Navarro wrote a piece in the Financial Times titled "India’s oil lobby is funding Putin’s war machine — that has to stop", in which he explains how the India-Russian oil mathematics work. In his opinion piece, Navarro also targets India for "imposing some of the highest average tariffs in the world", adding "along with a dense web of non-tariff barriers that punish American workers and businesses. As a result, the US runs a massive trade deficit with India, nearing $50bn annually. And here’s the kicker: India is using those US trade dollars to buy Russian oil. "

In the video posted on X, Navarro says that India does not really need Russian oil. Elaborating on it further, he said that before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, India imported less than one per cent of its oil from Russia, whereas now it imports around 35-40 per cent.

In his opinion piece for the Financial Times, Navarro said, "To be clear, this surge has not been driven by domestic oil consumption needs. Rather, what really drives this trade is profiteering by India’s Big Oil lobby. Refining companies have turned India into a massive refining hub for discounted Russian crude. "

Nikki Haley wants India to be treated as a "prized partner"

Navarro's statement comes days after Nikki Haley, former US Ambassador to the United Nations, highlighted the significance of treating India as a "prized free and democratic partner", in an attempt to counter China's growing influence. In her opinion piece on Newsweek, Haley wrote that she believes India is the only country that can serve as a counterweight to Chinese dominance in Asia, making it crucial for the US to maintain a strong partnership.

India-China improve bilateral ties

Navarro's criticism of India comes at a time when Indian and Chinese leaders are making efforts to improve bilateral ties, which were strained after the 2020 Galwan clash. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in India for a two-day visit and met with S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs and Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser.

According to a PTI report, India, China have reached new common understandings agreeing to conduct normalised management and control of the boundary during the just concluded visit of Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to New Delhi, Beijing said on Wednesday.