Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said India is “mostly with us” and expressed hope that New Delhi will change its attitude to the Russian energy sector with US President Donald Trump's intervention.
Zelensky was answering a question during an interview with Fox News about China and India contributing to Russia's war against Ukraine.
The US has often blamed India and China for purchasing Russian, which President Trump has claimed funds Moscow's war against Ukraine.
“I think India mostly with us. Yes, we have these questions with energy, but I think that President Trump can manage it with Europeans, make more close and strong relations with India,” Zelensky said.
“And I think, we have to do everything not to withdraw Indians and they will change their attitude to the Russian energy sector,” the Ukrainian president said.
The Ukrainian President's remarks come amid US President Donald Trump's criticism of India and China, labelling the countries as “primary funders” of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
He was answering a specific question by a Fox News interviewer: “China, India, they're all contributing here; European nations, the President said, need to get off oil, but need to do it with the US. Do you think that that is going to happen?” “I'm sure with China, its more difficult because it's not for today. It's not in the interest to not support Russia,” Zelensky said.
He also said, “I think Iran will never be on our side, because we'll never be on the side of the United States.” Zelensky, in his address at the UN Security Council, said: “China is here – a powerful nation on which Russia now depends completely.” “If China truly wanted this war to stop, it could compel Moscow to end the invasion. Without China, Putin's Russia is nothing. Yet too often, China stays silent and distant, instead of active for peace,” Zelensky said.
In the same interview, Zelensky said that President Trump can change the attitude of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to the war. "I think that President Trump can change the attitude of Xi Jinping to this war, because China, we don't feel that China wants to finish this war," Zelensky told Fox News'.
Zelensky interview surfaced hours after President Donald Trump's address to the UN General Assembly, wherein he lashed out at India and China for being the “primary funders” of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil,” Trump said. His remarks came weeks after a hefty 50% tariffs on Indian imports took effect on August 27.
India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics. India turned to purchasing Russian oil sold at a discount after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow and shunned its supplies over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.