'Two great countries…': Trump aide on India-US tensions amid tariffs over Russian oil

Amid tensions between India and the US, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the end of the day, the “two great countries will get this solved”, adding that Delhi's values are much closer to “ours and to China's than to Russia's.”

Bessent, in an interview with Fox News, also termed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as being “largely performative.”

His remarks came after the annual summit of the SCO took place in the Chinese port city of Tianjin on Sunday and Monday.

“This is a longstanding meeting, it's called the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and I think it's largely performative,” Bessent said Monday.

“I think at the end of the day, India is the most populous democracy in the world. Their values are much closer to ours and to China's than to Russia's.”

“I think at the end of the day, two great countries (India and the US) will get this solved. But the Indians have not been great actors in terms of buying Russian oil and then reselling it, financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine,” he claimed.

India has defended its purchase of Russian crude oil, maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.

The treasury secretary also noted the slow progress in US-India trade talks as an additional factor for the White House's move to raise tariffs, according to Fox News.

Bessent's comments came in response to questions about the status of the India-US relationship amid the Trump administration's 50 per cent tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil.

India has termed the tariffs imposed on it as “unjustified and unreasonable".

Bessent was also responding to questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin.

His remarks came against the backdrop of possibly the worst phase in India-US relations in over two decades, with the strain exacerbated by Trump's tariff policy and constant criticism of New Delhi by his administration.

He also said that “all options are on the table” as the Trump administration weighs sanctions on Russia after the continued bombardments against Ukraine.

“I think everything's on the table,” Bessent said.

“President Putin, since the historic meeting in Anchorage, since the phone call, when the European leaders and President Zelenskyy were at the White House the following Monday, has done the opposite of following through on what he indicated he wanted to do. As a matter of fact, he has, in a despicable, despicable manner, increased the bombing campaign.”

Bessent added that “So I think with President Trump, all options are on the table, and I think we'll be examining those very closely this week.”