White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Thursday accused India of “cozying up” to Chinese President Xi Jinping, as he lashed out at New Delhi for still continuing to do oil trade with Russia.

Addressing the media, Navarro, who has also been critical of India over its trade with Russia in the past, said New Delhi was not recognising its “role in the bloodshed in Ukraine”.

Talking about his recent opinion piece in the Financial Times, Navarro further said a “propaganda” was coming from India that he was trying to address.

“I had to address the propaganda coming from India, which was trying to make people feel sorry for India,” the White House official said, arguing India did not need any Russian oil, and that the purchase was “virtually” nothing before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

He also termed India a “laundromat for the Kremlin” as he backed US President Donald Trump’s doubling of duties on Indian goods entering the country.

Navarro, the trade advisor in Trump’s administration, is being seen in a key force behind the Republican’s retaliatory tariff move against countries. Even as he accused India of cozying up to Xi Jinping, there have been no additional tariffs on China yet, despite the country being the top buyer of Russian oil.

After Trump threatened 50% tariffs on Indian imports earlier this month, New Delhi had issued a strong response, citing how the Trump administration was choosing to punish India for “actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest”.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent recently explained the rationale behind the different treatment to China, saying the country’s purchase of Russian oil has been “suboptimal”.

“Pre-invasion (of Ukrainian territory by Russia), 13 per cent of China’s oil was already coming from Russia. Now it’s 16 per cent, so China has diversified oil inputs,” said Bessent, drawing parallels with India, saying the country has hiked up its oil trade with Russia to 42%, up from “less than 1 per cent” earlier.

Trump’s additional 25% tariff deadline for India ends on August 27, while the earlier announced reciprocal tariffs have already come into force.