Moscow, Sept 18: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Washington’s strategy of imposing tariffs and using coercive tactics is unlikely to succeed against India and China, stressing that both nations would not alter their policies under US pressure.
In an interview on Russia’s Channel 1 programme The Great Game, Lavrov said: “Both China and India are ancient civilizations, and to use this language with them ‘either stop doing what I don’t like, or I’ll impose tariffs on you’ well, that won’t work.”
He argued that US ultimatums were only driving India and China away as trade partners, compelling them to explore new energy markets and resources, even while forcing them to pay more in the process.
Responding to fresh sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine conflict, Lavrov said Moscow had already adapted to Western restrictions. “Frankly speaking, I don’t see any problem with the new sanctions. An enormous amount of sanctions, unprecedented for that period, were imposed during President Trump’s first term. Later, under President Biden, sanctions became a substitute for diplomacy and compromise,” he noted.
Lavrov’s remarks came amid calls by US President Donald Trump for NATO members to impose collective tariffs of 50–100 percent on China, arguing such measures were necessary to curb Beijing’s economic influence over Russia. Trump has also criticised India for purchasing Russian oil, claiming such trade indirectly supports Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine.
Interestingly, Lavrov’s comments follow a softening of Washington’s rhetoric toward India in recent weeks, particularly on tariffs and trade disputes that had strained bilateral relations.