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US Senator Lindsey Graham has issued a forceful warning to India, China, and Brazil: stop buying Russian oil or face severe economic consequences, including hefty US tariffs. But India remains firm on its energy choices, balancing national interests amid global pressure. In this video, we break down Senator Graham’s statements, India’s current oil imports from Russia, and what this means for India’s energy security and geopolitics in 2025. 

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00:00U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham issued a pointed warning to China, India and Brazil – stop
00:12buying Russian oil or face severe economic consequences. Appearing on Fox News, Senator
00:19Graham made it clear that he supports imposing tough measures on nations buying discounted
00:25Russian oil. He said, Trump is going to impose tariffs on people that buy Russian oil – China,
00:32India and Brazil. Those three countries buy about 80% of cheap Russian oil and that's
00:39what keeps Putin's war machine going. So, President Trump is going to put a 100% tariff
00:46on all those countries, punishing them for helping Putin.
00:52Graham's message was that continuing business with Moscow could lead to these nations'
00:58economies being crushed by steep tariffs. He warned, if you keep buying cheap Russian oil
01:06to allow this war to continue, we are going to tear the hell out of you and crush your
01:11economy. Cause what you are doing is blood money.
01:16Graham's statements reflect a larger push with some U.S. political circles, using economic
01:22leverage and potential tariffs as key tools to curtail Russia's financial resources fueling
01:28the conflict in Ukraine.
01:31Graham made it clear that the U.S. policy would turn even more aggressive in cutting off Russian
01:37oil revenues. He framed this as a critical step to force Russian President Vladimir Putin
01:43to the negotiating table. He said, this is a strong step in the right direction, but the
01:50goal is to shut down oil and gas purchases from Russia until Putin gets to the peace table.
01:57He drew a comparison between Trump and the current World Golf No. 1 Scotty Schaeffler saying, Trump
02:05is the Scotty Schaeffler of American politics and foreign diplomacy. On Ukraine, Lindsey Graham was unequivocal.
02:11He stated that under Trump, military and economic support for Ukraine would escalate, saying,
02:18we are flowing weapons to Ukraine, so Ukraine will have the weapons to fight Putin back.
02:24Graham's remarks paint a picture of a more forceful U.S. approach, focused on both punishing Russia's
02:32backers and helping Ukraine directly. But India has always been very clear on its stand to this mounting
02:40Western pressure. Indian officials have time and again reiterated that India's energy policy is
02:46determined by national interest and not by external demands, and that Western sanctions do not bind its
02:53trade choices. The geopolitical standoff now intensifies, with tariffs and energy policy
03:01taking centre stage. India is the second-largest importer of Russian crude oil, with imports totalling
03:08over 67 billion dollars in 2024, and Russian crude accounting for about 40 percent of India's oil imports.
03:17China remains the top buyer, consistently importing over half of Russian crude oil exports,
03:22mainly to support its infrastructure and energy demands.
03:25Brazil has also increased its import of Russian oil, with shipments rising over 80 percent year-on-year
03:33in the first half of 2025, as Brazilian refiners seek cheaper alternatives.
03:39Despite pressure from the U.S. and Europe, all three countries have continued these imports,
03:44amid the need for reliable energy sources.

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