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Former Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Sarna, commented on White House advisor Peter Navarro's statements, saying India must maintain its strategic autonomy amid global pressures.
"China is a bigger buyer, and Europe buys gas. I think this is a way of attempting to influence India's policies on a broader scale, rather than just focusing on Russia, oil, or trade, for instance. So, I think this is a moment when India has to maintain its strategic autonomy, its own decision-making space and for that, we may have to suffer some short-term losses. We might find things difficult in exports, but I think we will come out of it," Sarna told ANI. He also spoke about the current state of India-US relations, noting that the bilateral ties are facing challenges. "I think the relationship is facing a lot of challenges at the moment. So, we have to ride it out. We have to roll with it at the moment. We have to make sure that India's basic interests are taken care of, whether it is in energy, agriculture and so on. I think we have to not react with a knee-jerk reaction to every comment that is coming out of Washington," he added. Sarna's remarks came amid Navarro's criticism of India's decision to purchase Russian oil, suggesting that New Delhi should "act like" a democracy and side with other democratic nations. In an interview with Bloomberg Television's Balance of Power, Navarro claimed that India's oil purchases indirectly fund Russia's war efforts, putting pressure on the US to support Ukraine financially. His comments followed the US imposition of a 50% tariff on Indian goods, including an additional 25% specifically targeting imports linked to Russian oil. India has criticised the move as "unjustified and unreasonable." Navarro said, "The Indians are so arrogant about this. They say, oh, we don't have higher tariffs. Oh, it's our sovereignty. We can buy oil from anyone we want. India, you're the biggest democracy in the world. Okay? Act like one. Side with the democracies." India's Foreign Ministry stated that the country is being unfairly singled out, as the US and EU continue importing goods from Russia. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar noted that the US had previously encouraged India to buy Russian oil to help stabilise global markets. Navarro also criticised India's deepening ties with China, warning, "You're getting in bed with the authoritarians. China, you've been at war with them for decades. They invaded Aksai Chin and all your territory. These are not your friends." Chinese Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, responded by saying, "Silence or compromise only emboldens the bully," expressing China's willingness to collaborate with India in defending the multilateral trading system under the WTO. US President Donald Trump implemented a combined 50% tariff on Indian goods, linking it to India's Russian oil purchases and citing support for Ukraine. Trump claimed, "India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine." After Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, European nations largely stopped buying Russian oil, which now flows mainly to Asia, with China, India, and Turkey among Moscow's major clients, providing vital revenue for Russia. (ANI)
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