US President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that his decision to impose additional tariffs on India may have played a role in convincing Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to high-level talks in Alaska this week on the Ukraine war.
Speaking on Fox News Radio’s The Brian Kilmeade Show, Trump said the measures “essentially took [India] out of buying oil from Russia,” noting that New Delhi had been Moscow’s second-largest crude customer.
“Certainly, when you lose your second-largest customer and you’re probably going to lose your first largest customer, I think that probably has a role,” Trump remarked.
The Alaska meeting, scheduled for August 15, will be closely monitored in India, which is facing mounting trade tensions with Washington. Last week, the White House announced an additional 25% levy on Indian imports, bringing the total tariff to 50%, in retaliation for India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that further secondary tariffs on India remain on the table, depending on the outcome of the Alaska talks. “If things don’t go well, sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,” Bessent told Bloomberg TV.
The Trump administration has accused India of indirectly funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine. New Delhi has rejected the charge, calling the tariffs “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable,” and defending its energy imports as essential for national security.
Trade negotiations between the two countries stalled earlier this month after Trump froze discussions over the Russian oil issue. Talks are expected to resume on August 25 in New Delhi, just two days before the higher tariff rate takes effect. However, India’s firm stance on protecting its agriculture and dairy markets continues to be a major obstacle.
Trump has expressed optimism that the Alaska meeting could be the start of a process leading to a peace agreement in Ukraine. While he said an immediate ceasefire was uncertain, he indicated that a second round of talks involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could follow, focusing on “boundaries, lands, etc.”
“I’m not going to negotiate their deal. I’m going to let them negotiate their deal,” Trump said, adding that the Alaska talks “set up like a chess game” and could determine the path to ending the conflict.
