U.S. President Donald Trump said imposing tariffs on India for buying Russian oil is not an easy thing to do, and it “causes a rift with India.”

“Look, India was their biggest customer. I put a 50% tariff on India because they’re buying oil from Russia. That’s not an easy thing to do. That’s a big deal and it causes a rift with India,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with ‘Fox and Friends’ on Friday (September 12, 2025), when asked what clamping down on Russian President Vladimir Putin entails.

“But I’ve already done it. I’ve done a lot,” Mr. Trump said. “And remember this is a Europe problem much more than our problem,” Mr. Trump added.

In the interview, Mr. Trump also repeated his claim that he has solved seven conflicts so far in his second term as President. “I solved seven wars. I did so many, including Pakistan and India, but big ones, some were unsolvable. Congo and Rwanda, I solved it. It was going on for 31 years, millions of people killed. I solve wars that was unsolvable,” he said.

Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.

U.S. President Donald Trump has once again claimed that he stopped the India and Pakistan war from “going nuclear” by threatening to impose tariffs and refusing to do any trade deals if they did not agree to a ceasefire.

Mr. Trump’s latest comments came on Tuesday (August 26, 2025) during a cabinet meeting at the White House, where he also claimed that he had spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I am talking to a very terrific man, Narendra Modi. I said, ‘What’s going on with you and Pakistan?’ The hatred was tremendous. This has been going on for a hell of a long time, like, sometimes with different names for hundreds of years,” the U.S. President said.

“I said, I don’t want to make a trade deal with you… You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war… I said, call me back tomorrow. But we’re not going to do any deals with you, or we’re going to put tariffs on you that are so high, your head’s going to spin,” he added.

“Within five hours, it was done. Maybe it starts again, but I will stop it if it does,” Mr. Trump went on to say.

Mr. Trump also claimed that “seven jets or maybe more than that” were shot down without elaborating which country’s aircraft he was referring to.

Mr. Trump’s comments came just hours before new tariffs totalling 50% on Indian goods were set to take effect on August 27.

Talking to the press at the White House on Monday (August 25, 2025), Mr. Trump claimed that he stopped seven wars around the world, including the one between India and Pakistan. He added that of the seven wars he stopped, four were because he used tariffs and trade to negotiate with the parties involved in the conflict.

Since May 10, when Mr. Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 40 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has been consistently maintaining that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said in Parliament that no leader of any country asked India to stop Operation Sindoor.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has categorically said there was no third-party intervention in bringing about a ceasefire with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.