The US president said Moscow has been heavily impacted by levies imposed on New Delhi for buying its oil

US President Donald Trump has claimed that American tariffs imposed on India for purchasing Russian oil have dealt a "big blow" to Moscow.

Addressing a briefing in the White House on Monday, Trump said Russia has been heavily impacted by global pressure stemming from the imposition of US tariffs on multiple countries.

"[It] 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 stated, in reference to India. "No one would have been so tough and I haven't stopped there," he added.

The remarks come ahead of Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

Last week, the White House announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports, doubling those it recently imposed on the South Asian nation to 50%. The US president said the latest tariffs were imposed due to India's continuedpurchasesof Russian oil.

Trump added that Russia had "tremendous potential to do well," but claimed that its economy "is not doing well right now because it's been very well disturbed by this."

The new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are set to take effect on August 27, according to a presidential executive order.

New Delhi has strongly condemned the tariffs as "unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable," and has vowed to protect its national interests.

On Monday, former Pentagon official Michael Rubin told the ANI news agency that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would go down in history for standing up for his country's rights, and that the US would learn that it can't "kick India around."

(RT.com)