• Indian FM tells Chinese counterpart that peace on Himalayan border essential for positive momentum in ties
• White House trade adviser says Indian oil purchases fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine; urges halt • Indian Oil Corp says Russian crude will continue to be bought ‘based on economics’
NEW DELHI: As Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar opened talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in New Delhi on Monday, the White House urged India to halt its purchases of Russian crude, warning that the revenues were helping finance Moscow’s war in Ukraine.”
The Indian foreign minister began talks with his Chinese counterpart, stressing that there could be positive momentum in ties between the neighbours only if there was peace on their border.
Wang arrived in the Indian capital on Monday for a two-day visit during which he will hold the 24th round of border talks with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This (discussing border issues) is very important because the basis for any positive momentum in our ties is the ability to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas,” Jaishankar told Wang in his opening remarks.
It is also important for the two countries to pull back their troops amassed along their disputed border in the western Himalayas since a deadly border clash in 2020, Jaishankar said.
Wang’s visit comes days before Modi travels to China – his first visit in seven years – to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional political and security group which also includes Russia.
Relations between the Asian giants began to thaw in October after New Delhi and Beijing reached a milestone pact to lower military tensions on their Himalayan border following talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Modi in Russia.
Ties between the two countries had deteriorated sharply following a military clash on their disputed Himalayan border in the summer of 2020 in which 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed.
‘Cozying up to Russia and China’
Meanwhile, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said India’s purchases of Russian crude were funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine and had to stop.
New Delhi was “now cozying up to both Russia and China,” Navarro wrote in an opinion piece published in the Financial Times on Monday.
“If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US., it needs to start acting like one.” India’s Foreign Ministry has previously said the country is being unfairly singled out for buying Russian oil while the United States and European Union continue to purchase goods from Russia.
US President Donald Trump announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods earlier this month, citing New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil. The move will take total tariffs on imports from India to 50pc.
“India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” Navarro wrote.
The adviser also said India’s close ties with Russia and China made it risky to transfer cutting-edge US military capabilities to India.
Separately, Indian Oil Corp, the country’s top refiner, will continue to buy Russian oil depending on economics, the company’s head of finance Anuj Jain told an analyst meeting on Monday.
Jain said his company’s Russian oil processing in the June quarter was about 24pc compared to an average 22pc in 2024-25.
Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2025