LOS ANGELES (OC).–Senior Advisor to 79-year-old President Donald Trump, 39-year-old Stephen Miller told Fox Business today that India continues to purchase Russian oil, essentially feeding the Russian war machine. Miller knows that dealing with Russia is a delicate balancing act since Trump has worked hard since taking office to restore normal diplomatic relations with the Kremlin. Under former President Joe Biden, U.S.-Russian relations deteriorated to the point of mortal enemies, no longer having any cooperative relations. Biden was the first post-WW II president to go to war with the Kremlin, all but destroying U.S.-Russian relations. Trump has only recently rocked the boat with Russia, pressuring 72-year-old President Vladimir Putin to sign onto a 30-day ceasefire agreement with Ukraine. Putin has been reluctant to halt the war because Zelensky shows no interest in peace.
Putin has been under punitive economic sanctions since he invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, 2022 in what he called a “special military operation” to de-fang Ukraine’s military. Putin asked Biden for months before the invasion to come up with new security arrangements for Ukraine, Biden ignored Putin’s pleas, continuing to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons to the point it threatened Russian national security. Biden claimed Putin’s invasion was “unprovoked and unjustified,” but from the Kremlin’s perspective, it rejected the invasion as “provoked and justified,” a total failure of communication. Trump has tried to improve U.S.-Russian relations getting back to the point that Russia and the United States can serve as cooperative partners on a host of common interests. Miller’s statements about India buying Russia oil don’t sit well with the Kremlin, knowing other economic sanctions.
Miller says nothing new about Putin’s attempts to skirt U.S. and EU sanctions, largely focused on Russia’s oil sector. “What he [Trump] said very clearly is that its is no acceptable for India to continue financing the war by purchasing the oil from Russia,” said Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff. Miller knows that China purchases as much oil as India, maybe more, realizing that both countries have no dog in the Ukraine War. Only recently, Trump has raised the issue of more sanctions against Russia because Putin has not signed onto a ceasefire agreement. Trump thought it would be a lot easier to complete a peace deal with Putin, running into roadblocks largely because of Zelensky. Zelensky has rejected all of Putin conditions for a ceasefire and peace deal, especially the idea of trading land-for-peace. Zelensky has lost 25% of Ukraine sovereign land over the last three years.
Miller knows that India, China, Brazil, South Africa and many other countries trade with the Russian Federation, especially when it comes to buying Russian crude oil. When it comes to financing Russia’s war machine, it goes much deeper than that because Russian oil exports are a big part of the economy. Putin wants to end the war and put the time into peace talks but he doesn’t want to sign a 30-day ceasefire agreement before Zelensky shows a willingness to compromise on Ukrainian sovereign territory lost from over three years of war. Miller’s statements about India won’t sit well with Putin, whose long-time business relationship with India is ironclad. Miller expresses Trump’s recent views trying to find a way to push Putin along to a 30-day ceasefire agreement. Trump sees too many Ukrainian civilians suffering under Putin’s constant bombardment.
Trump’s recent attempt to hold Putin accountable for delayed peace talks to end the Ukraine War put the onus on Putin, not Zelensky. Trump knows dealing with Zelensky hasn’t been easy with the Ukrainian president running to the European Union accusing Trump of favoring the Russian negotiating position. Zelensky lost trust in Trump once the Feb. 28 altercation in the Oval Office, when Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance pressured him to end the war. Trump emphatically told Zelensky he didn’t hold the cards in any peace negotiation with Putin because he’s lost so much sovereign territory. Zelensky couldn’t accept that Trump was restoring normal diplomatic relations with his mortal enemy. Zelensky can’t accept that U.S. foreign policy and national security requires Trump to have pragmatic, working relations with the Russian Federation.
Miller states the obvious telling Fox Business that India’s oil purchases from Russia helps support the Russian war machine. “People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That an astonishing fact,” Miller said on Fox “Sunday Morning Futures.” No one is surprised by India and China buying Russian oil. What’s surprising is that Trump has taken a more punitive approach to dealing with Putin. He was on the right tract when he restored normal diplomatic relations with Putin, not join Ukraine and the EU in pressuring Putin to sign onto a 30-day ceasefire. Putin wants Russian and Ukrainian negotiators to go about their work behind the scenes to present to him an acceptable peace deal. No amount of sanctions or outside pressure is going to twist Putin’s arm in signing any deal before he’s ready. Trump made good progress when he cut Putin slack and let him work with Zelensky toward a settlement.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
S
