New Delhi: India Friday rejected White House trade czar Peter Navarro’s comments on “Brahmins” profiting from the Russia-Ukraine war, calling them “inaccurate and misleading”.
“We have seen the inaccurate and misleading statements made by Mr Navarro, and obviously reject them,” Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said at a press briefing.
Navarro last week claimed “Brahmins” were profiteering through the discounted purchase of Russian oil and reselling it abroad. The White House Counsellor on Trade has been taking aim at India in recent weeks.
Navarro had last week even referred to the Russia-Ukraine war as “Modi’s war”. The White House trade czar has blamed India’s continued purchase of Russian oil as the reason Moscow has been able to prolong its almost four-year conflict with Kyiv.
India has purchased up to $56 billion worth of Russian crude in the last financial year. US President Donald Trump last month imposed an additional 25 percent tariffs on India, which came into effect at the end of August. India’s duties are now at 50 per cent, which is one of the highest amongst America’s trading partners.
SCO & Azerbaijan
Jaiswal also clarified that India had no role to play in denying Azerbaijan membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) earlier this week.
“The expansion of the SCO is an ongoing process. This year, both Armenia and Azerbaijan submitted applications for membership. Due to time constraints, a decision on the issue could not be taken by Member States in Tianjin. The matter continues to be under consideration by the group,” said Jaiswal.
Reports from the Azeri media earlier this week blamed India for blocking its membership application. Baku has been a close partner of Pakistan in recent years, and one of the few countries that supported Islamabad during Operation Sindoor.
India however maintains economic ties with the country, with investments in its oil and gas sectors.
Sources told ThePrint that the application given by Baku to join the SCO came at the extreme last moment during the summit, and therefore, there was no time to discuss it.
Armenia, another country which recently signed a peace deal with Azerbaijan after almost three decades of war, has also applied to join the SCO. India maintains close links with Yerevan, with a strong defence partnership.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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