'Trump is an aberration in American politics': Ex-US NSA calls tariffs on India a mistake, not a policy 

Former United States National Security Advisor John Bolton said India should not be singled out for sanctions on Russian oil and called US President Donald Trump's 50% tariff on New Delhi a mistake in bilateral relations.

In an interview with India Today TV, Bolton said, "This is a Trump mistake. It's shooting ourselves in the foot. And that has to be taken into account. This was no decision endorsed by the US Congress or overwhelmingly by the people. This is part of Trump's effort to win the Nobel Peace Prize."

According to Bolton, the sanction structure unfairly targeted India. "The Russians have escaped Trump's threat of additional sanctions on purchases of their oil and left India as the only country - not China, not Russia itself, not Turkey, not others - that have been subjected to sanctions," he said.

He, however, stressed, "To be clear, I think the purchase of Russian oil and gas is something India should move away from."

On India's growing engagement with Russia and China following the tariffs, Bolton said, "The reaction in India to grow closer to China and Russia is very unfortunate. That's why this question of the sanctions against India - India alone, not Russia, not China, not others - poses more problems than they solve."
 
He added, "China is the principal threat in both East and South Asia, and its increasing access with Russia puts Russia increasingly on China’s side. That’s the strategic future and I think that’s what India should be focused on."

Commenting on the US' growing ties with Pakistan under Trump, Bolton said: "This perhaps stems from the controversy over the terrorist attack in Kashmir and Trump taking credit for resolving and lowering tensions between Pakistan and India. These were decisions primarily made by India and Pakistan in their own good judgment."

Bolton concluded that Trump's approach towards India should not be seen as a long-term US policy shift. "It's important to try and keep this in perspective and to remember that Trump is an aberration in American politics," he said.

Bolton linked Trump's approach to his pursuit of international recognition. "Everybody's trying to manipulate him. They can all see that he wants the Nobel Peace Prize. What Trump wants to do is kind of bounce everybody into an agreement that he can then take credit for. If it falls apart later, I don’t think he's so worried about it, he can then blame it on other people," he remarked while speaking on efforts to end Russia-Ukraine conflict.