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New Delhi: Washington has urged its fellow G7 capitals to follow its lead and levy tariffs on countries buying Russian crude oil – of which the most prolific are China and India – to deprive Moscow of its ability to continue waging its war against Ukraine.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent made the appeal to the US’s G7 partners during an online meeting of the grouping’s finance ministers chaired by current president Canada on Friday (September 12).

Bessent underlined US President Donald Trump’s call to G7 members to impose tariffs on countries importing Russian oil “if they are truly committed to ending the war in Ukraine”, per a communique issued by his department early Saturday Indian time.

“Only with a unified effort that cuts off the revenues funding Putin’s war machine at the source will we be able to apply sufficient economic pressure to end the senseless killing,” Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer were also quoted as saying.

Pointing to the US’s own example of taking “dramatic action” against buyers of Russian oil, the duo said it hoped the other G7 members – comprising Canada, France, Japan, Germany, Italy, the UK and the EU – would “join us in taking decisive action at this critical time”.

It also welcomed commitments by the other members to intensify pressure on Russia using sanctions as well as to “explore” using frozen Russian........

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