“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.” This was the statement of the American president posted on Truth Social. This followed only a day after he had informed Americans that he was imposing a 25 percent tariff on Indian imports, which would be implemented from August 01. Trump has stated that India has always relied on Russia as a source of weapons and fuel, something that he described as a bad decision.
What led to the US’s frustration over India?
Recently, India has been testing new power triangles. Moscow and Beijing have considered reviving the ancient RIC format, much to the dismay of cautious Indian responses. In July 2025, New Delhi took a publicly visible step indicating its willingness to restart RIC. The Ministry of External Affairs described RIC as a consultative group. The Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, emphasized this in May 2025, reiterating that Moscow is interested in restarting the RIC troika as soon as possible, noting that the troika had met twice or thrice a year since 2002. Beijing also supports this, with China’s Foreign Ministry stating that cooperation among the three countries is in the best interest of regional stability.
The reason why India is at least willing to listen has also been made clear through Western frustration with India’s supposed double standards, such as the veiled sanctions on India over its Russian oil purchases. India can leverage this situation and explore non-Western trade routes by aligning with Russia and China. However, New Delhi is cautious not to upset its American allies. Its spokesman described RIC as nothing more than a platform where the three nations discuss global issues, and press sources have not reported any specific meeting dates. RIC is currently in a transitional phase. Analysts say that a full revival of RIC “would introduce a Eurasian influence, a power capable of challenging Western dominance.
India has experienced good economic interaction with Russia but sour ties with the West on a few fronts. Their bilateral trade was record-breaking; the turnover of India and Russia rose to approximately $68.7 billion in 2024-25. This balance is dominated by the Indian imports to Russia. Official figures suggest that India imported around $63.8 billion worth of goods in 2024-25 from Russia, as compared to exports of just about $4.9 billion. Its import bill is heavily dominated by oil and commodity products. Top of the list in fiscal 202-425 were petroleum products, fertilizers, and other fuels. Indeed, India has emerged as the biggest buyer of the crude in Russia. The officials from NATO have cautioned India that it may run the risk of being subjected to 100 % secondary sanctions should it maintain bulk purchases of Russian oil.
Russia remains a major arms supplier to India, but that advantage is beginning to fade. One study confirms that Russia is still its main arms provider. It continues to supply parts for major Soviet-era deals. There exist some setbacks, too, such as the S-400 air-defense system. According to sources cited by The Times of India, Russia’s delivery of S-400 systems to India is now expected to be delayed by three years beyond the original schedule. Nonetheless, India has already started diversifying over the past decade, and it has purchased Western platforms like French Rafale jets and Israeli missiles, among others.
Another case of India playing a balancing act is its involvement in the QUAD. All four states formally commit to a free and open Indo-Pacific, and they have acted to increase coordination since 2017. However, India has no intention of seeing QUAD become a formal military alliance. Recent analyst comments suggest that the QUAD’s security efforts are hindered by India’s reluctance to join a treaty-based security system. Russia was compelled to address the issue in India, with the foreign minister speaking publicly on the matter. Sergey Lavrov accusing the U.S., Japan, and Australia of attempting to make the Quad more militarized.
In recent times Washington’s interest has taken on a more cautious tone. To illustrate this, US Senator Lindsey Graham has fired a sharp warning to BRICS countries by name, saying, “We’ll tariff the hell out of you and will crush your economy” because they are alleged to be supplying fuel to the war efforts of Putin. The threat is accompanied by a bipartisan Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which is backed by the White House as it urges more stringent secondary sanctions. In previous years, former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported that India’s decision not to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine left the country shocked. Additionally, India is not a signatory to Western sanctions, which leads to accusations from the U.S. of shirking responsibility. India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Europe has to grow out of the mindset that its problems are the world’s problems, but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems. A RAND commentary adds that, despite bipartisan support, the situation is much more fragile than it appears due to clashes of values.
To sum up, India has reached a strategic cross. Its vibrancy as a democratic state is being impaired and feared by Western partners. It is throwing in its old alliance with Russia even as it claims that it is in coordination with the U.S. on China. India at this time is moving toward such forums as the QUAD but is refusing to become militarily entangled. These trends make a profile more ambiguous. India cannot be taken as a full-fledged member of the opposed block and, at the same time, cannot be regarded as a reliable Western ally automatically.
