Washington:

President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will resolve the issue arising out of the threat of US tariffs on India’s purchase of Russian oil, a senior White House advisor said on Tuesday.

The remarks by White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro came days after the US Senate passed a bill authorising the US President to impose 100 per cent tariffs on the top five purchasers of Russian oil, contending that such business directly financed the Ukraine war.

Navarro said India was not involved in the oil trade with Russia before the Ukraine war broke out in 2022, but got involved later.

“Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, India was not involved in the oil trade with Russia, but afterwards it got heavily involved and was selling a lot of refined products on behalf of Russia, which helped feed the war machine,” Navarro told reporters at the White House.

The US official said the issue has since been resolved and claimed credit for weaning India off the oil trade with Russia.

“Maybe, I had a little bit to do with that with that op-ed,” Navarro said, referring to the article he had penned in The Financial Times recently.

“The president and your prime minister have a very good working relationship. They are going to work that out amongst themselves, and it’s not for me to get between,” Navarro said.

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