Putin criticises U.S. efforts to pressure India and China into cutting energy ties with Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised on Thursday (October 2, 2025) U.S. efforts to pressure India and China into cutting energy ties with Moscow, warning that such moves could backfire economically.

Mr. Putin said that if higher tariffs are imposed on Russia’s trade partners, it would drive up global prices and force the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high.

President Vladimir Putin said that the global economy would suffer without Russian oil, warning that prices would jump to over $100 per barrel if its supplies were cut off.

That, in turn, would slow down the U.S. economy, Mr. Putin told a forum of Russia experts.

Putin on trade payments between India & Russia

Russia and India must resolve issues in trade payments between the two countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (October 2, 2025). Mr. Putin said the issue could be resolved within the BRICS countries or by other means.

Warns U.S. on missile supply to Ukraine

Mr. Putin said that a decision by the United States to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would trigger a major new escalation with Washington, but would not change the situation on the battlefield.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said on Sunday (September 28, 2025) that Washington was considering a Ukrainian request for Tomahawks.

Asked what the supply of Tomahawks would mean, Mr. Putin said it would be dangerous as the cruise missiles were powerful and posed a threat.

“It is impossible to use Tomahawks without the direct participation of American military personnel,” Mr. Putin said at the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

“This will mean a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the United States.”

Mr. Putin said Tomahawks could harm Russia, but that it would simply shoot them down and improve its own air defence.

Two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday (September 30, 2025) that the United States would provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets in Russia, as it weighed whether to send Kyiv missiles that could be used in such strikes.

Putin on nuclear arms control

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would carry out a nuclear test if another nuclear power did so after saying that Moscow had seen signs that an unnamed country was preparing to conduct such tests.

Mr. Putin repeated his offer to the U.S. of voluntarily rolling over caps on nuclear warheads when a key arms control treaty expires next year if Washington does the same.

Mr. Putin, who said that dialogue with the United States remained complicated, said one of the factors that should be taken into account in any new arms control talks is the fact that Russia had a new missile, the Oreshnik complex.

If the U.S. decided that it did not want to do a deal on rolling over the New START treaty, Mr. Putin said Russia was confident in its own nuclear shield.

If China signed up to any future nuclear arms control, Mr. Putin said he thought the nuclear arsenals of Britain and France should also be taken into account.