Sep 21, 2026 15:56 pm IST

Opinion | 'Blackmail' Diplomacy: Why India Can't Be A Pawn In US' War On Russia

The new sanctions bill is both blackmail and hypocritical: blackmail because it seeks to change India's principled stand, and hypocritical because the US has provided exemptions to others, and itself.

Ashok Sajjanhar Ashok Sajjanhar Columnist

Ashok Sajjanhar Columnist

In a surprising, yet not unexpected development, the US House of Representatives, by a substantial majority of 262-159, passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act on September 16, granting explicit statutory authority to the US President to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the top five global buyers of Russian crude oil and natural gas. The US Trade Representative will reassess the top five purchasing nations every 180 days to determine eligibility for tariff measures. Imports of crude oil and natural gas by the EU, and uranium, nuclear materials, fertilizers, etc., by the US, have been provided a carve-out from this legislation.

Out of those who voted for the Bill, 58 were Democrats, making this a bipartisan move. Discussions on this legislation had been going on for over a year, with the Bill itself having been tabled in the US Senate on April 1 last year. Senator Lindsey Graham aggressively campaigned for the bill, accusing buyers of Russian crude of funding "blood money". Following the death of Senator Graham in July this year, lawmakers rallied to revive and push the measure through Congress as a memorial legislative effort. On August 7, the Senate passed the bill overwhelmingly in an 86-11 vote. The President signed the bill into law on September 18.

India responded promptly to this development. The Ministry of External Affairs stated that India remains "firmly committed" to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people and will continue doing so through diversified sourcing and according to evolving market dynamics. However, there was also a veiled but direct warning to the US. The Ministry added that India had discussed the issue at high levels with US interlocutors over recent months, and that the "potential consequences of the US measure for........

© NDTV