Washington: In a fresh perspective on the ongoing debate over Russian energy purchases, US Strategic Affairs expert Ashley J. Tellis has urged Washington to halt its sharp focus on India regarding former President Donald Trump’s peace efforts in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Speaking to Media, Mr. Tellis emphasized that India should not be portrayed as the sole culprit for challenges facing Trump’s peace initiative. “Stop singling out India as the author of all the complications for Trump's peace initiative in Ukraine. There are many who bear responsibility for making President Trump's life difficult with respect to his Ukraine peace initiative,” he said.
The controversy began when Mr. Trump’s Trade Advisor Peter Navarro publicly dubbed the Russia-Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war,” arguing that India’s ongoing purchase of Russian energy was indirectly empowering Moscow’s military aggression. Navarro told Bloomberg Television, “I mean Modi’s war because the road to peace runs, in part, through New Delhi.”
Despite the criticism of India, data shows that China remains Russia’s largest energy customer. In 2024, China imported Russian oil worth USD 62.6 billion, compared to India’s USD 52.7 billion. Nevertheless, the Trump administration had earlier doubled India’s tariffs to 50 per cent on August 27, citing its Russian oil imports as a factor in fueling the Ukraine war.
Mr. Tellis explained that the expectation that either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or former President Trump could single-handedly broker peace in Ukraine is unrealistic. “Neither Prime Minister Modi nor President Trump can engineer a peace in Ukraine as long as President Putin stands fast to his original objectives,” he said. “President Putin is not going to stop the war simply because his best friends abroad have persuaded him.”
Earlier in August, Trump hosted a summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky along with other European leaders at the White House, hoping for a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky before a trilateral discussion. Those meetings, however, have yet to occur, with Russia claiming the agenda was not ready and Ukraine alleging Moscow is actively delaying talks.
Trump himself expressed frustration in a recent interview on The Scott Jennings Radio Show. “I am very disappointed in President Putin, I can say that, and we will be doing something to help people live,” he stated.
The debate highlights a broader question in global diplomacy: while India has faced targeted criticism for its energy decisions, it is far from alone in navigating the complexities of a world still entangled in the repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine war.