Zelensky backs US tariffs on India
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has claimed US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 25% penal tariffs on India for buying Russian oil was the “right” thing to do.
In an interview with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz that was aired on Sunday, Zelensky said “additional pressure” was needed on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mentioning last week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, Raddatz asked, “When you saw [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi there, who has helped Russia... so did the plan backfire of trying to put sanctions on them?”
In response, Zelensky said, “I think the idea to put tariffs on the countries which continue to make deals with Russia, I think this is [the] right idea.”
The US has imposed duties on most Indian products, which include a 25% tariff announced in early August followed by an additional 25% at the end of last month, as a “penalty” for India’s purchases of Russian oil and defense equipment – actions that Trump claims have indirectly fueled the Ukraine conflict.
Before going to Tianjin for the SCO summit, Modi held a telephone conversation with Zelensky in which the Indian leader said New Delhi extends “full support” to “restore peace and stability” in Ukraine.
“As far as the conflict in Ukraine is concerned, we welcome all the recent efforts towards establishing peace in Ukraine,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday. “We hope that all parties will proceed ahead constructively. India supports an early end of the conflict and the establishment of an enduring peace.”
In his interview with ABC, Zelensky also spoke out against other countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas.
”To be open and to be clear, it’s not fair,” he said. “So we have to stop to buy any kind of energy from Russia… we can't have any deals if we want to solve them [conflict].”
