India has also come under Trump’s fire as a member of intergovernmental grouping BRICS, which is led by U.S.-sanctioned countries Russia, China and Iran, as well as Brazil and South Africa. Trump threatened an additional 10% tariff on BRICS members, which he said were aligning themselves against the U.S.

Eric Garcetti said that India bought discounted Russian oil (at a price cap) at the behest of US as part of a broader policy design to prevent energy prices from going up.

India rejects criticism of its business dealings with Russia as ‘unreasonable’, vowing to safeguard its own interests.