Trump calls China & India ‘primary funders’ of Ukraine conflict - Video

Both Beijing and New Delhi have previously rejected what they called Washington’s economic coercion

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump. ©  Global Look Press / Li Rui

US President Donald Trump has accused India and China of “funding” the Ukraine conflict through Russian energy imports during a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Trump has previously argued in favor of imposing secondary sanctions on nations maintaining economic ties with Moscow to increase financial pressure on Russia. Both Beijing and New Delhi have slammed the US approach as unacceptable and refused to bow to American pressure.

“China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil,” Trump claimed on Tuesday.

The US president also ridiculed NATO members that continue to import Russian oil and gas, saying they are virtually “funding the war against themselves” by buying energy from Russia while “fighting Russia” at the same time.

Earlier this month, Trump demanded that Brussels introduce tariffs of up to 100% on Indian and Chinese goods. The proposal was met with resistance by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said the bloc would “make its own decisions.”

In late August, Washington imposed a 25% punitive tariff on India, bringing total import duties to 50% on most goods, citing New Delhi’s failure to curtail purchases of Russian oil. The US has yet to impose any new tariffs on Beijing, after a tariff war earlier this year resulted in a temporary truce.

Both Beijing and New Delhi rejected what they called America’s economic coercion. India will “undoubtedly be buying Russian oil,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in early September. The country’s imports of crude oil from Russia rose by 5.6% last month to 1.6 million barrels per day.

China denounced what it described as “illicit unilateral sanctions” by the US and insisted it was “fully legitimate and lawful” for Beijing to maintain normal economic, trade and energy cooperation with all countries, including Russia.

During a recent visit to Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned the West against using a “colonial tone” toward China and India, arguing that efforts to punish them are aimed at slowing their economic rise.