'Burn relations with strong ally': Nikki Haley slams Trump for threatening India ties over Russian oil; accuses US of giving China 'pass'

The U.S. should not burn its relationship with a “strong ally like India” and give a pass to China, Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley said on Tuesday (August 5, 2025), amid President Donald Trump's attacks against New Delhi over tariffs and purchases of Russian oil.

“India should not be buying oil from Russia. But China, an adversary and the number one buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, got a 90-day tariff pause," Ms. Haley said in a post on X.

"Don’t give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India,” she said.

Ms. Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina, was the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under Mr. Trump's first presidential term, becoming the first Indian-American to be appointed to a cabinet-level post in the U.S. administration.