New Delhi: The United States has demanded India to stop purchasing Russian weapons and, in addition to the issue of tariffs, has exposed India's role in BRICs as a possible obstacle to New Delhi-Washington relations. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik said on Friday, “India historically bought a large part of its military equipment from Russia, and we feel that it needs to be abolished. India is the 'I' of BRICS, which is trying to make a currency to change the dollar as a global economic currency.”

He said in the India Today Conclave that such things do not create love and affection that we really feel deeply for India. We want these things to be finished. Lutnik also raised India's long -standing issue on the products coming from America and demanded fair trade between the two countries. Under President Donald Trump, the US has recently called for the purchase of more American -made security platforms from India, mainly to reduce trade deficit.

Trump has also criticized BRICS members' efforts to search for an international exchange medium as an alternative to US dollar. Trump raised the issue in a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January this year. Last month, during PM Modi's visit to the White House, the US President reiterated the need for the purchase of US defense platforms to India, even considering Washington to consider possible sales of F35 fighter aircraft to New Delhi.

India announced the purchase of six additional P-8i maritime monitoring aircraft during a visit to the US, as well as several joint initiatives, in which joint production of underwater monitoring equipment is now one of the major projects under consideration. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday gave low importance to any plan by BRICS members to convert US dollars into a global reserve currency, stating that there is no uniform situation within this group. Apart from India, this group includes Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran and Indonesia.

For countries such as Russia and Iran, the US dollar option is important, as the economic sanctions imposed by Washington severely limited access to their global financial markets. Another major problem for America is its trade deficit with India. In 2023–2024, India exported goods worth about $ 77 billion to the US, while importing goods worth only $ 42.1 billion from the North American country.