Washington (US): Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has criticised Donald Trump’s conduct on India, calling it “inappropriate” for the President to take credit for peace between India and Pakistan or to impose tariffs on New Delhi over Russian oil purchases.

In an interview with ANI, Bolton said Washington was uneasy with Trump’s actions.

“I think there was a lot of concern in Washington that the two tariff issues, combined with Trump taking credit for bringing peace to India and Pakistan after the last terrorist attack in Kashmir, were inappropriate,” he remarked.

Trump had earlier claimed he brokered peace between the two South Asian neighbours during the conflict in May. India, however, has maintained that the ceasefire was the result of direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs).

Last month, the Trump administration slapped 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods, followed by another 25 per cent levy linked to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil and weapons.

“The sanctions are not part of normal trade conversation, and it’s part of Trump’s approach to Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. This connection shows how erratic Trump could be because he has not sanctioned or tariffed Russia or violated the sanctions, nor has he sanctioned or tariffed China for violating the sanctions, and China is a much bigger purchaser than India is, and there are many other purchasers, Turkey, Pakistan, and others,” he pointed out.

Acknowledging New Delhi’s dilemma, he said, “Government of India should look at Trump as a one-time proposition and deal with it and take whatever steps they believe are in India’s national interest, but to understand it as peculiar to Trump and not reflecting some larger American view.”

Bolton praised India’s quiet handling of the tariff dispute. “Well, I think that’s the best way to deal with somebody like Trump. If you take the bait and get into a public back-and-forth with him, it’s not going to make things any easier,” he noted.

The former NSA argued that Trump’s approach lacked strategic depth. “I wouldn’t call it a strategy... he does it more for the theatrical performance aspect of it for the domestic political reaction than because of a strategic approach to relations between India and the United States,” he said, warning that such behaviour had damaged global confidence in US reliability.

Bolton urged India to keep its focus on long-term relations with Washington. “The objective should be to continue to try and make progress, minimise the damage done, and then work to fix it once his term is over. A long-term perspective and a willingness to put up with conduct you don’t appreciate very much, but which is unique to one person and not to the entire American people, would be worth keeping in mind,” he added.