‘Sanctions on India to Pressure Russia’: White House Explains Sanctions Over Ukraine War

The White House on Tuesday clarified that President Donald Trump’s recent decision to impose steep tariffs on India was a strategic move aimed at indirectly pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the doubling of India’s tariff rate to 50% was part of a broader administration strategy to squeeze Moscow by targeting countries that continue to trade with Russia. Leavitt framed the move as the application of “secondary pressure” on Moscow, underlining the President’s determination to end the conflict.

“The president has put tremendous public pressure to bring this war to a close. He’s taken actions, as you’ve seen, sanctions on India and other actions as well,” Leavitt said. She added that Trump “wants to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible” and has “scoffed at the ideas of others… that we should wait another month before any meeting takes place.” This explanation comes just days after Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House, where he initiated plans for a direct meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.

Leavitt confirmed that the US government is actively working with both nations to facilitate that bilateral meeting. She noted that Trump’s diplomatic push had brought European leaders, including the NATO Secretary-General, to the White House within 48 hours of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that they all agreed the proposed talks were a “great first step.” She also reinforced President Trump’s long-standing claim that the war would not have happened under his watch, stating, “The president often says that this war would not have started if he were in office and Putin confirmed that.”

During the press briefing, Leavitt also reiterated the administration’s claim that Trump had previously used trade as leverage to resolve the India-Pakistan conflict earlier in the year. “(For) India and Pakistan (conflict), he (Trump) used trade in a very powerful way as leverage to bring that conflict to an end,” she stated. This assertion, however, stands in direct contrast to India’s consistent and firm rejection of any third-party mediation in its bilateral matters, with New Delhi repeatedly stating that no foreign leader had asked it to halt any military operations.