India Will 'Say Sorry' To US In Next 2 Months: Lutnick Says India Must Choose Between Russia, BRICS, US

(MENAFN- Live Mint) India is likely to apologise to Donald Trump and seek a deal with the President of the Unites States in a couple of month, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday also criticised India's decsion to buy oil from Russian oi, calling it“ridiculous,” and said the New Delhi needs to decide which side it wants to be on.

India will say 'sorry' in next two months

During an interview with Bloomberg, Lutnick noted, "In a month or two months, I think India is going to be at the table, and they're going to say they're sorry, and they're going to try to make a deal with Donald Trump."

"And it will be on Donald Trump 's desk how he wants to deal with (Narendra) Modi, and we leave that to him. That's why he's the President,” he added.

On India buying oil from Russia, Lutnick noted that before the war, India b

India buying oil from Russia is plain wrong

ought less than 2% of its oil from but now it accounts for about 40% of its imports. He said,“What they're doing is, because the oil is sanctioned, it's really, really cheap because the Russians are trying to find people to buy it. And so the Indians have just decided, 'Ah, the heck with it. Let's buy it cheap and make a ton of money.”

Noting that the action is just plain wrong and ridiculous, he said India needs to decide which side it wants to be on.

He further pointed out that India is still unwilling to open its market, cut back on Russian oil purchases, or step away from BRICS .“They're the vowel between Russia and China (in BRICS). If that's who you want to be, go be it. But either support the dollar, support the United States of America, support your biggest client, who is the American consumer, or I guess you're going to pay a 50% tariff. And let's see how long this lasts,” he said.

Also Read | Oil boils: Sitharaman says India will 'undoubtedly be buying Russian crude' Always open to talk to India

On re-negotiating the trade deal with India, he said that the United States is always willing to talk.“The Chinese sell to us. The Indians sell to us. They're not going to be able to sell to each other. We are the consumer of the world. People have to remember, it's our $30 trillion economy that is the consumer of the world. So eventually they all have to come back to the customer, because we all know eventually the customer is always right.”

India, meanwhile, has consistently defended its purchase of Russian crude, stating that energy procurement decisions are guided by national interest and market realities.

Also Read | India's New Twist On Trump's Tariffs, Govt Teases Possible Trade Deal With U.S. What Trump said about India

Trump on Friday re-affirmed that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would always be friends, asserting that there is“nothing to worry about” and the two countries still share a“very special relationship”.

However, he expressed displeasure over what "he (PM Modi) is doing" in contemporary times.

When asked by ANI, "Are you ready to reset relations with India at this point?", US President Trump said, "I always will. I'll always be friends with (PM) Modi. He's a great Prime Minister. I'll always be friends, but I just don't like what he is doing at this particular moment. But India and the United States have a very special relationship. There is nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion".

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