New Delhi: As the USA tightens its tariff grip on nations it as soon as referred to as companions, Russia has accused the Washington of pushing a “neo-colonial agenda” to protect a slipping international dominance.
The sharp rebuke got here from Russian International Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who mentioned sanctions and tariff partitions have change into a defining mark of in the present day’s world.
“Politically motivated financial strain” is the instrument now wielded in opposition to nations selecting to chart their very own international coverage paths, she mentioned.
Zakharova was responding to questions on the Donald Trump administration’s escalating tariff technique, significantly its affect on nations within the International South.
She argued that this method tramples the very beliefs of free commerce that the West as soon as championed.
“As a substitute, we now witness politically pushed protectionism and the arbitrary imposition of tariff limitations. Brazil, our strategic associate in Latin America and the Caribbean, is among the primary victims of this coverage,” she mentioned.
She warned that such actions strike straight on the sovereignty of countries, disrupt international provide chains and speed up the fragmentation of the worldwide financial system.
“No tariff wars or sanctions can halt the pure course of historical past,” she declared, including that Russia continues to attract power from its alliances, significantly inside the BRICS bloc.
“We stand able to deepen cooperation with them to withstand illegal unilateral sanctions and to assist form a genuinely multipolar, simply and equitable worldwide order,” she mentioned.
The Russian remarks landed simply hours after U.S. President Trump made recent threats geared toward India.
In a put up on Fact Social, he lashed out at New Delhi’s oil commerce with Moscow. “India isn’t solely shopping for large quantities of Russian Oil, they’re then, for a lot of the oil bought, promoting it on the open marketplace for large income. They don’t care how many individuals in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian struggle machine. Due to this, I shall be considerably elevating the Tariff paid by India to the USA,” he wrote.
India has not stayed silent. The Ministry of Exterior Affairs issued a pointy rebuttal, defending India’s power coverage as pushed by necessity and nationwide curiosity, not geopolitical strain.
Calling the criticism “unjustified and unreasonable”, the MEA made it clear that India would proceed to safe inexpensive power for its residents.
“We are going to take all needed steps to safeguard our nationwide pursuits and financial safety,” the assertion mentioned.
As the USA makes an attempt to reshape international commerce via punitive measures, a rising checklist of countries, Russia, India, Brazil and others, are pushing again with phrases, insurance policies and alliances.
The subsequent chapter on this battle will not be fought with missiles, however with pipelines, sanctions and sovereign selections.