But Trump has fundamentally miscalculated. This is India, not some pliant client regime that buckles under Washington’s economic blackmail.

Monday evening, the Ministry of External Affairs delivered a surgical strike on American duplicity. While Trump pontificates about India’s Russian oil purchases, his own country continues importing uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for electric vehicles, fertilisers, and chemicals from Moscow. The European Union — America’s closest “ally" — recorded a staggering €67.5 billion in goods trade with Russia in 2024, plus €17.2 billion in services. European LNG imports from Russia hit a record 16.5 million tonnes in 2024, surpassing even 2022 levels. All such figures were quoted by the MEA in its combative statement which caught the world’s attention for the manner in which it exposed American duplicity.

Donald Trump’s conspicuous silence on his country’s continuing trade ties with Russia has hardly been missed by anyone in India. In fact, when asked by a journalist what his response to India’s statement was, he could muster very few words, saying, “I don’t know."

While Trump sets the Indo-US relationship on fire, he remains a mute spectator when it comes to Europe, or even China’s trade with Russia. Does Trump have the courage to sanction American and European companies that continue to profit from Russian energy? The silence is deafening because the truth is inconvenient: America’s rage isn’t about Ukraine, but about control in the Indian Subcontinent.

Trump’s strategy follows the well-worn American playbook of coercive diplomacy. First, create artificial moral outrage. Then deploy economic weapons. Finally, demand........

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