•         Trump’s threats over Russian oil could set back decades of India-U.S. diplomatic progress
  
  
    

  • Indian opposition and public urge Modi to resist what they see as Trump’s bullying

  -Analysts say ties are at their lowest since U.S. sanctions after India’s 1998 nuclear tests

  -India expected to step up interactions with Russia and China, say analysts, with some efforts already underway

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's tirade against India over trade and Russian oil purchases threatens to undo two decades of diplomatic progress, analysts and officials say, and could derail other areas of cooperation as domestic political pressures drive both sides to harden their stances.

India's opposition parties and the general public have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stand up to what they call bullying by Trump, who on Wednesday signed an executive order subjecting Indian imports to an additional 25% in duties on top of an existing 25% tariff, due to its big purchases of Russian oil.

While India has emerged in recent years as a key partner for Washington in its strategic rivalry with China, its large U.S. trade surplus and close relations with Russia - which Trump is seeking to pressure into agreeing to a peace agreement with Ukraine - have made it a prime target in the Republican president's global tariff offensive.

Trump's taunt that India could buy oil from arch enemy Pakistan has also not gone down well in New Delhi, said two Indian government sources. India has also rejected repeated claims by Trump that he used trade as a lever to end a recent military conflict between India and Pakistan.