India Rejects "Inaccurate and Misleading" Statements by Trump Advisor Peter Navarro on Russian Oil Purchases

India has officially rejected statements made by Peter Navarro, senior trade advisor to US President Donald Trump, describing them as "inaccurate and misleading." Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made this clear during a recent briefing.

"We have seen inaccurate and misleading statements made by Mr Navarro. Obviously, we reject them," stated Jaiswal firmly.

Since Trump's return to office, Navarro has repeatedly criticized India's trade and foreign policies, creating growing tension between Washington and New Delhi.

During his controversial comments, Navarro referred to the Russia-Ukraine conflict as "Modi's war," suggesting that India's continued purchase of Russian oil was fueling Moscow's military operations. This accusation came shortly after Trump implemented punitive 50 percent tariffs on India.

Navarro also suggested that India could see a 25 percent reduction in these tariffs if it ceased purchasing discounted crude oil from Russia.

In another inflammatory statement, Navarro accused India of operating a "profiteering scheme" through its Russian oil imports, labeling India the "Maharaj" of tariffs. He claimed India purchased virtually no oil from Russia before the Ukraine invasion, but this has now increased to 35 percent of India's oil imports.

"They don't need the oil. It's a refining profit-sharing scheme. It's a laundromat for the Kremlin. That's the reality of that," Navarro alleged.

Navarro further made controversial remarks with casteist overtones when he criticized India's elite for "profiteering at the expense of Indian people." He stated: "India is nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin...You got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop," suggesting that Indian refiners were buying discounted Russian crude, processing it, and exporting it at premium prices.

Trump's advisor also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, calling it "a shame."

"It is a shame to see [PM] Modi getting in bed with Xi Jinping and Putin. I'm not sure what he's thinking. We hope he comes around to seeing that he needs to be with us and not Russia," Navarro remarked.

India has consistently defended its position, describing the US actions as "unjustified" and maintaining that its Russian oil purchases are necessary to maintain low energy prices and stabilize its domestic market.