Trade between US, Russia grew 20 per cent under Trump administration, says Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday at a press conference in Alaska that trade between Russia and the United States has experienced growth under President Donald Trump.

Speaking publicly for the first time after his meetings with Trump—a rare foreign appearance—Putin emphasized that bilateral trade between the two countries saw a "symbolic" 20 percent increase since the Republican administration came into power.

"When the new government entered office, the bilateral trade began to increase. It's still very symbolic. Still, we have a 20 per cent growth," Putin said.

He further added that there is still huge potential for cooperation between Russia and the US in various areas.

We have a huge number of dimensions of collaborative work. The US and Russia can provide so much to each other in terms of trade, digital, hi-tech, and space exploration," Putin said.

These remarks by Putin are made in the backdrop of heightened tensions as the US is imposing sanctions on India for its continued Russian oil imports.

Earlier this month, India was hit with tariffs from Trump for still importing Russian oil amid sanctions after the Ukraine war. India will be hit with a 50 percent tariff from August 27.

While Trump had termed his India visit as positive, no exemptions from these tariffs have been announced by him. Putin's comments, however, indicate that US-Russia trade has increased since the time of Trump's assumption of office. India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had denounced the doubled tariffs as unequal.

The US has in recent days hit India's Russian oil imports. We have already made our stand on these matters clear, including the fact that our imports are market-driven and in the overall spirit of securing the energy needs of 1.4 billion Indians," the MEA said.

India has noted that other countries, such as China, continue to import Russian energy without any penalties. However, India is the only nation under US tariffs for importing Russian oil.