He made the remarks in an interview with Good Morning America whereas responding to a query that Mr. Trump has “repeatedly threatened” to take motion in opposition to Mr. Putin however backed off these threats, and the way rather more time is Mr. Trump going to present the Russian chief, who has intensified his assaults on Ukraine.
“Well, I think he has taken action. So, for example, we’ve imposed additional tariffs on India — and they’re a very close partner of ours — and we had meetings with them again yesterday, and it has to do with their purchase of Russian oil,” Rubio mentioned.
When it was identified that Mr. Trump has not taken any direct motion on Russia, Mr. Rubio referred to the invoice by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, which “was about tariffs on India and China for the purchase of oil and gas from Russia”.
“I think the President has also called on Europe to step up to the plate. There are countries in Europe that are still buying massive amounts of natural gas and oil from Russia, in essence, directly fueling the war effort. The President has also instructed us, and we’ve made a lot of progress working on security guarantees,” the Secretary of State mentioned.
He added that shortly after the Alaska summit between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin, European leaders had come to Washington.
“We agreed to work on security guarantees for the future of Ukraine after the end of this conflict. We’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in creating the outlines for that, and that’s going to be essential in any negotiated end to the war,” Rubio mentioned.
Mr. Rubio had met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New York on Monday morning on the sidelines of the eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly high-level week.
In a submit on X, Mr. Jaishankar had mentioned it was “good to meet” Rubio in New York.
“Our conversation covered a range of bilateral and international issues of current concern. Agreed on the importance of sustained engagement to progress on priority areas. We will remain in touch,” Mr. Jaishankar had mentioned.
‘Relationship of crucial significance’
After the assembly, the U.S. mentioned that India is a relationship of crucial significance to the United States and voiced “appreciation” for the Indian authorities’s continued engagement on bilateral points, together with commerce, defence and power.
Mr. Rubio, reiterating that “India is a relationship of crucial significance to the United States, expressed his appreciation for the Indian authorities’s continued engagement on a variety of points, together with commerce, defence, power, prescription drugs, crucial minerals, and different gadgets associated to the bilateral relationship,” a readout of the assembly offered by the State Department had mentioned.
Mr. Rubio and Mr. Jaishankar agreed that the United States and India will proceed working collectively to advertise a free and open Indo-Pacific area, together with via the Quad, the assertion added.
The assembly, which lasted for about an hour, was the primary in-person assembly between Mr. Rubio and Mr. Jaishankar amid tensions between the 2 international locations over the previous few months on commerce, tariffs and Delhi’s purchases of Russian power.
The Trump administration imposed an extra 25% tariff on Delhi as a penalty for its purchases of Russian oil, taking the full levies imposed on India by the US to 50%, among the many highest on the planet.
Just days earlier than the assembly, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a staggering $100,000 payment on new H-1B visas. The announcement brought on widespread concern and panic amongst Indian professionals, together with these from the IT and medical fields, who’re the most important beneficiaries of the H1B skilled-worker program.
Mr. Rubio and Mr. Jaishankar had final held bilateral discussions in July in Washington DC on the sidelines of the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
Peace initiatives
In a separate interview with Fox and Friends, Mr. Rubio mentioned Mr. Trump has put extra time and power into peace proposals and peace initiatives than anyone else on the planet, and he has had essentially the most success of anyone else on the planet.
“He doesn’t get numerous credit score, however let’s not neglect the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda had a conflict occurring; it is the President that brokered that. Azerbaijan and Armenia, it is the President who introduced that about.
“Thailand and Cambodia — it’s the President that brought the end to that about. India and Pakistan. That’s just four right off the top of my head in the last few months. And the President is the one who did that, not any other leader in the world and not the UN,” Mr. Rubio mentioned.








