India has turned into ‘oil money laundromat for Kremlin’: Peter Nava

A day after claiming that the Ukraine conflict was “Modi’s war”, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has accused India of being an “oil money laundromat for the Kremlin.”

“If India, the world’s largest democracy, wants to be treated like a strategic partner of the U.S., it needs to act like one,” he said, putting out a series of social media posts attacking New Delhi.

Mr. Navarro, Trump administration’s Senior Counsellor for Trade and Manufacturing, has been consistently targeting India over the last few days after ties between Washington and New Delhi saw a major downturn over Trump’s policies on trade and tariffs.

The 50% tariffs slapped on India by the Trump administration came into effect on Wednesday.

The trade adviser said the 50% tariff — 25% for unfair trade and 25% for national security — was a direct response.

“India’s Big Oil lobby has turned the largest democracy in the world into a massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin,” Mr. Navarro claimed.

He went on to say that Indian refiners buy cheap Russian oil, process it, and export fuels to Europe, Africa, and Asia.