By Anubhav Maurya

Copyright republicworld

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that US threats of tariffs against India and China are proving ineffective and that Washington increasingly recognises the futility of using such an approach with two of the world’s oldest civilisations. His remarks came during an appearance on Russia’s Channel 1 TV programme The Great Game on Thursday.“Both China and India are ancient civilisations. And talking to them like ‘either you stop doing what I don’t like or I’ll impose tariffs on you’ won’t work,” Lavrov said. He added that the ongoing high-level contacts between Washington and both New Delhi and Beijing show that the American side is beginning to understand this reality.Lavrov stressed that US demands not only disrupt economic stability but also generate political pushback. “Besides the fact that this undermines the economic well-being of those countries, it at least creates very serious difficulties for them, forcing them to seek new markets, new sources of energy supplies, (and) forcing them to pay higher prices. But beyond this, and perhaps even more importantly than this, there is a moral and political opposition to this approach,” he explained.Amid continuing Western sanctions against Moscow, Lavrov remained defiant. “Frankly speaking, I don’t see any problem with the new sanctions imposed on Russia,” he said, recalling that during Donald Trump’s first term, “an enormous amount of sanctions, unprecedented for that period, were imposed.”He added that under President Joe Biden, sanctions became a substitute for diplomacy. “There was no search for a compromise,” Lavrov said.On 17th September, US President Donald Trump highlighted his personal and diplomatic closeness with India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting their recent exchange of birthday greetings. Speaking at a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump revealed that he had spoken to Modi on his 75th birthday.“I’m very close to India. I’m very close to the Prime Minister of India. Spoke to him the other day, wished him a happy birthday. We have a very good relationship. He put out a beautiful statement, too… but I said, I sanctioned them,” Trump remarked.On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Just had a wonderful phone call with my friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I wished him a very Happy Birthday! He is doing a tremendous job. Narendra: Thank you for your support on ending the War between Russia and Ukraine!”Modi responded with gratitude on X, writing, “Thank you, my friend, President Trump, for your phone call and warm greetings on my 75th birthday. Like you, I am also fully committed to taking the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership to new heights. We support your initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.”The exchange coincided with the visit of US Trade Representative Brendan Lynch to New Delhi, where he met with Commerce Ministry Special Secretary Rajesh Agrawal. Both sides agreed to intensify negotiations for a Bilateral Trade Agreement.During his press conference, Trump also voiced concerns over India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, linking it to his decision to impose a 50 per cent tariff on Indian imports, including a 25 per cent levy on oil-related trade.