US President Donald Trump has claimed that the tariffs imposed on India for purchasing oil from Russia have influenced Moscow’s decision to seek a meeting with Washington, as the country was losing its “second largest customer”. The comments come ahead of Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said, “I think everything has an impact,” and claimed that when he told India that “we’re going to charge you, because you’re dealing with Russia and oil purchases”, it “essentially took them out of buying oil from Russia”.

“And then they (Russia) called, and they wanted to meet. We’re going to see what the meeting means. But certainly, when you lose your second-largest customer, and you’re probably going to lose your first-largest customer, I think that probably has a role. India was the second largest, and getting pretty close to China. China is the largest purchaser of Russian oil,” the US president said.