India has unexpectedly become a key target in Washington's latest push to pressure Russia over the Ukraine war. On Wednesday, Donald Trump doubled US tariffs on India to 50%, up from 25%, penalising Delhi for purchasing Russian oil - a move India called "unfair" and "unjustified".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke by phone on Thursday, Modi's office said in a statement, a day after the Brazilian leader said he would initiate a conversation among the BRICS group on tackling U.

The Indian prime minister has said his country "is ready" to react to President Donald Trump's additional 25 percent levy on goods entering the U.S.