Trump calls China, India ‘primary funders’ of Russian war, Rubio cites progress in trade talks – Latest developments

US President Donald Trump accused India and China of being the ‘primary funders’ of the Russian invasion of Ukraine during his UN General Assembly speech on Tuesday. The remarks came even as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US administration hoped to “fix” the “measures” it has taken against India for its continued purchase of Russian oil. The top Trump aide also insisted that there had been “a lot of progress” made during talks with India on Monday. 

“China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil,” Trump told the UNGA.

“We’ve already seen the measures we’ve taken with regards to India, although that’s something we hope we can fix. But – and the President has the ability to do more, and he’s considering doing more because of the direction this has taken,” Rubio told NBC Today.

The Trump administration has imposed an additional 25% on Delhi as a penalty for its purchases of Russian oil, taking the total levies imposed on India by the US to 50% and among the highest in the world.