Washington, Aug. 28 -- A top Trump administration official said on Wednesday that the India-US relationship is "very complicated" but added but added that he believes the two sides will "eventually come together". The comments by US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who claimed America has an upper hand in the trade negotiations that have now run aground, came within hours of Washington's additional 25% tariff rate on Indian goods - meant to punish New Delhi for its purchase of Russian oil - coming into force. "I do think India is the world's largest democracy and the US is the world's largest economy. At the end of the day, we will come together," Bessent said in a television interview, while acknowledging tensions over trade and Russia. He reiterated his earlier statements, where he accused India of "profiteering" off Russian energy sales and "tapping us along" on trade talks. "This is a very complicated relationship," he said, but added: "President Trump [and] Prime Minister Modi have very good relationships at that level," while speaking to Fox Business. Bessent expressed frustration with the pace of trade negotiations, saying he had expected a deal with India to be among the first Washington would sign. "The Indians came in very early after Liberation Day to start negotiating on tariffs, and we still don't have a deal," he said, referring to April 2 when Trump announced sweeping global tariffs. "I thought India could be one of the earlier deals. And they kind of tapped us along in terms of the negotiations. And then there is also the aspect of the Russian crude purchases, which they've been profiteering on. So there are many levels going on here." Bessent said he had thought "we would have a deal" with India by May and June, calling much of India's approach "performative" while reacting to comments by India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar over the weekend. Jaishankar had said: "If you have a problem buying oil or refined products from India, don't buy it. Nobody forces you to buy it. Europe buys, America buys, so if you don't like it, don't buy it". Indian officials have termed the tariffs "unjustified" - a position that people who spoke on condition of anonymity reiterated, while maintaining that there still is room for negotiation. The Indian side's response has been "restrained and responsible" while keeping the door open for a trade deal, they added. S Jaishankar, at the media engagement on Saturday, stated that the issue of Russian oil never came up in trade discussions. Bessent, on his part, also targeted European leaders on Wednesday, pointing out they are "the ones buying the refined products that's made from the Russian oil." India has questioned why it faces penalties for Russian oil purchases whilst larger buyers such as China have escaped similar action, calling the disparity "unjustified and unacceptable." "The punitive tariff for buying Russian oil came as a bolt from the blue as it was not part of the terms of reference agreed on by the two sides in April for trade negotiations," one person said, hoping the 25% tariff would be temporary. Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated on Monday that his government would not compromise on farmers and small producers. "My government will never let any harm come to small entrepreneurs, farmers and animal keepers. No matter how much pressure comes, we will keep increasing our strength to withstand it."...