Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed US over its tariff threats, asserting that "ancient civilisations" like India and China will not bow down to its ultimatums, and can resist well.
Lavrov stated that as US is looking for ways to halt Russia's energy trade, it is only leading countries to "look for new energy markets, new reserves, and pay more."
His remarks came while speaking at 'The Great Game' programme of Russia's main Channel 1 TV. These were in response to the constant criticism of India by the Donald Trump administration for purchasing Russian crude oil during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
The Foreign Minister said, "Both China and India are ancient civilisations, and to use this language with them, 'either stop doing what I don't like, or I will impose tariffs on you'...well, that won't work."
He cautioned, "There has been a lot of moral and political opposition related to the approach chosen by them."
While pointing out how India and China have responded, Lavrov said, "Besides the fact that this undermines the economic well-being of those countries, it at least creates very serious difficulties for them, forcing them to seek new markets, new sources of energy supplies, and forcing them to pay higher prices. But beyond this, and perhaps even more importantly than this, there is a moral and political opposition to this approach."
Amid an interim bilateral trade deal between India and US, Donald Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on Indian imports in July. Moreover, during the expected negotiations, he imposed another 25 percent tariff as a "penalty" on India for its continuous trade with Russia, which came into effect from August 27.
Even White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro has been constantly targeting India, calling it the "Maharaja of Tariffs", further accusing that the elites have been profiteering at the cost of local workers.
Navarro had alleged in an interview, "Indian refiners were in bed with Russian refiners, immediately after the invasion. They make money off us via unfair trade, and many workers get screwed. They use that money to buy Russian oil, and Russia uses that to buy weapons."
Adding, "India is coming to the table. On the trade side, they have very high tariffs."
He also raised questions on PM Modi's interactive ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the recently brewing ones with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He said, "Look, the Indian people need to understand what's going on here. You got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people."
Lavrov's response to new sanctions on RussiaWhile responding to the question about new sanctions imposed on Russia, Lavrov said, "Frankly speaking, I don't see any problem...an enormous amount of sanctions, unprecedented for that period, were imposed during President Donald Trump's first term."
He added, "We have started to draw conclusions from the situation when the West imposed these sanctions. Later, during President Joe Biden's term, sanctions were used as a replacement for any diplomatic effort. There was no search for a compromise."