‘Not Acceptable’: Stephen Miller Accuses India of Financing Russian War in Ukraine With Oil Purchases

One of President Trump’s closest aides is accusing the nation of India of fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine by continuing to purchase its oil despite the threat of additional trade tariffs.On Sunday, during an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News, the White House’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called out India for “basically being tied with China” when it comes to the purchase of Russian oil.“That’s an astonishing fact. We need to get real about dealing with the financing of this war,” he said, “all options are on the table to deal diplomatically, financially and otherwise, with the ongoing war in Ukraine, so we can achieve peace and end the war.”“What he [Trump] said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia.”India appears to be thumbing its nose at threats of steep tariffs from President Trump for its refusal to heed his demand that they stop. Well-placed officials within the country’s government said to Reuters that there would be no immediate changes to their plans to purchase oil.“These are long-term oil contracts,” one of the sources said to the news agency. “It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight.”The revelation is a stark difference from comments touted by Mr. Trump on Friday when he told reporters that he was informed that India would no longer be buying Russian oil.Last week, the president said that America would be imposing a 25 percent tariff on goods from India as well as additional import taxes if they kept purchasing the oil.“While India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World,” he said in a post on Truth Social.“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!”A second source told Reuters that India’s imports from Russian oil have helped stabilize global oil prices, which have remained steady despite Western sanctions on Russia’s energy sector. The source noted that unlike oil from Venezuela or Iran, Russian oil is not subject to direct sanctions, allowing India to purchase it below the European Union’s current price cap.“On our energy sourcing requirements … we look at what is there available in the markets, what is there on offer, and also what is the prevailing global situation or circumstances,” spokesman for India’s foreign ministry, Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing on Friday.On Sunday, OPEC+ agreed to raise the production of oil by over 500,000 barrels per day in September, the latest in a series of moves to accelerate output in advance of the potential disruption of Russian supply.The decision was made after eight OPEC+ member nations held a virtual meeting, deciding on a full reversal of previous cuts plus the separate increase for the United Arab Emirates which would amount to nearly 2.4 percent of global demand, according to Reuters.The group, which produces about half of the world’s oil, had been reducing production for several years to support oil prices. It reversed course this year in a bid to regain market share, prompted in part by calls from U.S. President Donald Trump for OPEC to increase production.

‘Not Acceptable’: Stephen Miller Accuses India of Financing Russian War in Ukraine With Oil Purchases

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