As India faces escalating economic pressure from the US, its regional rival Pakistan hails closer ties with Washington.

India defended its Russian oil imports, calling US and EU criticism unreasonable, citing Western encouragement to diversify energy sources after the Ukraine conflict began. India also pointed to continued substantial EU and US trade with Russia.

India faces steep U.S. tariffs under Trump’s new trade policy, but it still maintains a more balanced trade equation than South Asian peers like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka due to lower tariff differentials and diversified exports.