Russian oil: Brahmins profiteering at the expense of Indian people, US official

Washington: US President Donald Trump's Trade Advisor Peter Navarro has said India’s elite are profiteering from Russian oil ‘at the expense of the Indian people’.

Navarro targeted India for buying ‘discounted’ Russian oil which he said New Delhi was ‘processing’, and ‘exporting at a premium’.

‘India is nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin...You got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop,’ Navarro said.

India according to Navarro is refining Russian oil and selling to buyers in Europe and elsewhere, adding that ‘It kills Ukrainians...And what do we have to do as taxpayers? We've got to send them more money.’

Navarro’s attack on India came as PM Modi was in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit along with Russian president Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Taking on PM Modi’s China visit, Navarro said: ‘Modi's a great leader...I don't understand why he's getting to bed with Putin and Xi Jinping, when he's the leader of the biggest democracy in the world’.

The meeting that comes in the wake of Trump’s punitive tariffs attracted international attention with many speculating a stronger tie between three major economies to counter American threats.

However, Navarro defended Trump’s tariffs on India alongside blaming that New Delhi’s relations with Moscow and Beijing could undermine ‘global stability’.

PM Modi’s visit to China is his first in seven years, focusing on rebuilding ties between both countries by initiating steps to ease tensions along border.

During the the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit PM Modi is also likely to meet President Putin, according to reports.