In the first official discussion between Delhi and Washington after President Donald Trump signed the Russia sanctions Bill empowering the US to levy tariffs up to 100 per cent on Moscow’s energy buyers, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar conveyed India’s economic and strategic concerns to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The bilateral meeting Wednesday took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York. Rubio will be travelling to India next month.

“Good to meet @SecRubio of the US #UNHighLevelWeek. Reiterated India’s interests and concerns with regard to SRIA (Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act). Also discussed the Gulf and Ukraine situations,” Jaishankar said in a post on X after the meeting. He is leading the Indian delegation for the 81st session of the UNGA.

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Rubio, in his post, said: “Together, we are building on the US-India strategic partnership and coordinating on key regional priorities and upcoming multilateral efforts.”

Trump signed into law the SRIA last week, giving himself the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas. India and China are among the major purchasers of Russian crude.

India has said that it “remains firmly committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people” and warned of “potential implications” for “the bilateral relationship” with the US.

The US move comes at a time when Delhi and Washington are trying to firm up a bilateral trade deal after months of negotiations.

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(PTI adds: Speaking about SRIA, US State Department Spokesperson Thomas Pigott said that “in terms of sanctions on Russia, that’s still going through the legislative process” and added that he would not comment on legislation until it’s been finalised. He said that when it comes to the war in Ukraine, the US wants durable peace between the parties.

“We’ve also been clear that we think that countries that are supporting that effort need to think about that and say, ‘are we actually making the situation worse?’,” Pigott said.

Talking about India-US ties, Pigott said, “It’s obviously a very important relationship, that takes a huge amount of importance.”)