India on Friday dismissed White House trade advisor Peter Navarro’s allegations about its energy and defence ties with Russia, describing them as “inaccurate and misleading,” while carefully avoiding any response to US President Donald Trump’s sharp remarks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. Trump had shared an image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, declaring that the US had “lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China.” When asked about the comments, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal declined to respond, saying only that he had “no comments to offer on this post at this moment.”
Navarro, one of Trump’s most vocal critics of India, accused New Delhi of effectively acting as an “oil money laundromat for the Kremlin.” He alleged that India was using revenue from its trade with the United States to buy discounted Russian crude oil, refine it, and resell it on global markets, thereby fueling Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine. Navarro even went so far as to describe the conflict as “Modi’s war,” rhetoric that India rejected outright.
In addition to the oil issue, Navarro accused India of pursuing a contradictory defence strategy. He argued that New Delhi was continuing to purchase large amounts of Russian military equipment while simultaneously pressing the United States for advanced technology transfers from American defence firms. He described this as a form of “strategic freeloading,” implying that India was unfairly balancing its defence partnerships at Washington’s expense.
Responding firmly, Jaiswal reiterated that India’s decisions on both energy and defence are made solely based on national interest and energy security. He stressed that India’s oil imports from Russia are consistent with its economic priorities and should not be viewed as targeted against any other nation. India has consistently defended these imports since 2022, framing them as a matter of economic necessity rather than geopolitical alignment.
The dual developments highlight a growing strain in US-India relations. While India firmly pushed back against Navarro’s attacks, its silence on Trump’s SCO comments suggests a careful diplomatic balancing act — rejecting baseless accusations while avoiding direct confrontation with the American president’s provocative remarks.
