Ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in Alaska, US President Donald Trump claimed that American tariffs imposed on India for buying Russian oil have dealt a "big blow" to Moscow's struggling economy, as he referred to New Delhi as one of Russia's "largest or second-largest oil buyers."
Addressing a press conference at the White House, President Trump said Russia's economy is "not doing well" and had been "very well disturbed" by the combined effect of American trade duties and global pressures.
Russia's economy is not doing well right now: Trump
"I think Russia has to get back into building their country. It's a massive country... They have tremendous potential in Russia to do well. They're not doing well. Their economy is not doing well right now because it's been very well disturbed by this," he said.
"Doesn't help when the President of the United States tells their largest or second-largest oil buyer that we're putting a 50% tariff on you if you buy oil from Russia. That was a big blow," Trump said, in an apparent reference to India.
Trump has enforced 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India and slapped an additional 25 per cent duty on its imports of Russian oil, bringing the total tariffs to 50 per cent.
What did Trump say about the deal with Russia?
Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Putin in Alaska on Friday, anticipating "constructive discussions." "I thought it was very respectful that the President of Russia is coming to our country, as opposed to us going to his country or even a third-party place. But I think we'll have constructive conversations," he said, adding that he would speak with European leaders after the meeting.
However, Trump also expressed optimism about the possibility of normal trade between both countries and said he'll know within the first two minutes of their meeting whether a deal can be struck. "We're going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin. And at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made," he said.
When asked if he sees a time when there could be normal trade between the US and Russia, Trump said, "I do. Russia has a very valuable piece of land. If Vladimir Putin would go toward business instead of toward war, you know, it's a warring nation. That's what they do. They fight a lot of wars. A friend of mine said Russia is tough because they just keep on fighting."
Trump also mentioned his plans to engage with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "The next meeting will be with Zelenskyy and Putin, or Zelenskyy and Putin and me. I'll be there if they need but I want to have a meeting set up between the two leaders," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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