In meeting with Rubio, Jaishankar raises concerns about India’s sanctions law

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar meets US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York on September 23, 2026. | Photo credit: X/@DrSJaishankar

In his first meeting since the United States passed the Russia-Iran Sanctions Act (SRIA), External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised concerns about the bill with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York on Wednesday (September 23, 2026).

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The law, which directs US President Donald Trump to penalize countries buying Russian oil with up to 100% tariffs and expands sanctions on trade with Iran, could affect India if it is implemented after a set one-month period.

In a post on social media, Mr Jaishankar said he “reiterated India’s interests and concerns regarding the SRIA” and discussed the situation in Ukraine and Iran. In a sharply worded response to the US Congress passing the law last week, the State Department said it had told various US partners in recent months that the move would have “consequences” for both India-US bilateral relations and the international energy market if India is pressured by the US to reduce its revenue from Russia’s Urals, which currently accounts for 51% of India’s total oil imports.

After the meeting, Mr. Rubio sidestepped the issue. In a social media post about the meeting with Mr Jaishankar, he said: “Together we are building on the US-India strategic partnership and coordinating key regional priorities and upcoming multilateral efforts.”

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Preparation for Modi-Trump meeting

Mr Jaishankar and Mr Rubio are also understood to be preparing for a high-level meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this year, with a possible meeting at the ASEAN summit in November and then a bilateral meeting expected in mid-December when Mr Trump hosts the G20 summit in Miami.

This is the third year in a row that India has failed to host the Quad Summit, and New Delhi would like to set a date later this year or in the first half of 2027 for Mr Trump and the leaders of Australia and Japan to travel to India. There has been no breakthrough on the date yet.

The foreign minister and the foreign minister have met frequently and in an extremely cordial manner over the past two years, even as bilateral relations have come under strain over US tariffs on India, negotiations on a free trade agreement and US relations with Pakistan in the wake of last year’s Operation Sindoor.

Trump’s claim

Their meeting on Wednesday came on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where Trump spoke a day earlier. In his speech on Tuesday, Trump repeated a claim repeatedly denied by the Modi government that he had negotiated an India-Pakistan ceasefire in May 2025.

“Since I came into office, it has been my great honor to settle eight wars and to befriend the leaders of many of these countries. It has been my great honor to do so. Many of these wars have lasted for many years and even decades,” Trump said in his speech to the general debate of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, specifically naming India and other conflict countries in Pakistan.

Speaking to the press later in the day, Mr Rubio also alluded to India-Pakistan tensions and suggested the US had been able to step in where the UN had failed.

“It would be great if we had a functioning international system, for example, that could deal with the Thailand-Cambodia war that happened, or the potential conflict between India and Pakistan… We don’t seem to have a functioning international system at the moment that could deal with that,” he said.

Mr Jaishankar is in New York this week to lead India’s delegation to the UN General Assembly and will address the body on Saturday (September 26, 2026).

Published – 23 Sep 2026 19:28 IST