US President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that Russia lost an "oil client", India, when asked if "there is an economic side" to Russian President Vladimir Putin agreeing to hold a meeting in Alaska.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump was asked, “Would you sense that Putin comes to this table maybe in an economic pinch? Maybe the things you've already done have put him in an economic pitch. Is there an economic side to this as Russia hoping to open up?”
Trump responded by saying, "Well, he [Putin] lost an oil client, so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40% of the oil."
“China, as you know, is doing a lot [ of oil trade with Russia]...,” he said.
Trump had earlier threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil.
Secondary tariffs on countries buying oil from Russia?
Donald Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to “in two or three weeks.”
"…if I did what's called the secondary sanction or a secondary tariff, it would be, you know, very devastating from their standpoint. If I have to do it, I'll do it. Maybe I won't have to do it," Trump said.
Trump's comments came ahead of his meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday. The two leaders held three-on-three meeting on Friday to discuss Ukraine war.
After the summit, Trump was asked if he was now considering such action against Beijing after he and Putin failed to produce an agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine.
He said, "Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that," Trump said after his summit with Putin in Alaska.
“Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well.”
Trump threats
Earlier this month, Trump threatened buyers of Russian energy with additional tariffs as a means of pressuring Putin into peace talks with Ukraine. The US president already doubled duties on Indian products to 50 percent starting August 27 over its purchases of oil from Moscow.
But raising tariffs on China would risk breaking a trade truce that Trump on Monday agreed to extend for another 90 days. That agreement saw Washington and Beijing lower duties on each others’ goods that reached astronomical levels in the spring, which spooked global markets.
China has defended its imports of Russian oil as lawful and necessary for its energy security.
