Russian Embassy unveils special plaque honouring Biju Patnaik
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New Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
French President Macron suggests that Geneva could host Putin-Zelensky summit
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Geneva could play host to a peace summit between Russian and Ukrainian leaders Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, who look set to meet after separate talks with US President Donald Trump. Speaking after he and other European leaders joined the Ukrainian president for high-stakes meetings at the White House on Monday, Macron said the announced Zelensky-Putin summit would be held in Europe. "It will be (hosted by) a neutral country, maybe Switzerland -- I'm pushing for Geneva -- or another country," Macron said in an interview aired Tuesday on French news channel LCI. "The last time there were bilateral talks, they were held in Istanbul," he added, referring to the three rounds of lower-level negotiations between Russia and Ukraine held in Turkey between May and July.
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
Trump begins arranging Zelenskyy-Putin meet, commits to coordinating security guarantees for Ukraine
Worried over Trump's potential return to supporting the Russian president's stance on the war, especially on territorial concessions to be made by Kyiv to end the three-and-a-half year long conflict, the European leaders were able to convince Trump to coordinate the 'security guarantees' demanded by Zelenskyy for peace in Eastern Europe. New Delhi: US President Donald Trump Monday said that he has begun preparations for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following the latter's visit to the White House accompanied by a raft of European leaders. 'During the meeting, we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with coordination with the United States of America. Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine. At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,' Trump posted on Truth Social. The American president added: 'After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.' Trump appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with special envoy Steve Witkoff, to coordinate with Moscow and Kyiv for these meetings. Trump's weekend of diplomacy has been perceived as a victory for Putin, who had been isolated by the Western leaders following the start of the current phase of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. Trump had promised to end the war within 24 hours of assuming power at the White House, while on the campaign trail last year. However, any deal, including a partial ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv has remained elusive. In the early months of his current presidency, Trump had applied pressure on Zelenskyy to accept his demands for peace negotiations, but in the last few weeks, he has taken aim at Putin for failure to end the war. Besides training his sights on the Russian president, Trump has also taken aim at India for funding Russia's war machine through New Delhi's continued purchases of oil from Moscow. The US president imposed additional tariffs of 25 percent on India on 6 August, raising the total tariff burden placed on imports from New Delhi to 50 percent, which is set to begin at the end of this month. Also Read: Amid Trump's tariff bombs, India's business with America surged while imports from Russia dipped 10% US tilts towards security guarantees for Ukraine French President Macron told reporters after the hours-long meeting between the leaders that the 'most important' outcome was Trump's commitment to work on security guarantees for Ukraine with his European counterparts. The US president in the past has ruled out any guarantees to defend Ukraine, in case any peace deal with Russia breaks down in the future, while also making it clear that Washington DC does not support Kyiv's accession to NATO. 'We discussed security guarantees. This is a key issue, a starting point towards ending the war. We appreciate the important signal from the United States regarding its readiness to support and be part of these guarantees…The US President also supported a meeting at the level of leaders. Such a meeting is necessary to resolve sensitive issues,' Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X Monday. The Ukrainian president added: 'Today was an important step, a demonstration of genuine unity between Europe and the United States. The leaders personally came to support Ukraine and to discuss everything that will bring us closer to real peace, to a reliable security architecture that will protect Ukraine and all of Europe.' Zelenskyy was dressed in a suit during the current visit to the White House, after the falling out he had with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance during his last visit to Washington earlier this year. Russian spokesperson Maria Zakhorova, before the meeting of the European leaders, rejected any potential peacekeeping force from NATO in Ukraine, asserting that such a situation could potentially lead to unpredictable consequences, according to media reports. Moscow has been pushing for Ukraine to concede territory, especially the Donbas—provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk—a demand Zelenskyy has ruled out. Moscow has also laid claim to two other provinces of Ukraine—Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: 'Dialogue & diplomacy' only way forward, says MEA as it welcomes Trump-Putin's Alaska summit
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
China refiners grab Russian oil as Trump menaces flows to India
Oil refiners in China have stepped up purchases of Russia's flagship crude, seizing an opportunity to take discounted cargoes relinquished by India as Washington ramps up trade tariffs against New Delhi. While China is the largest importer of Russian oil , it tends to take deliveries from the nation's Far East. Yet so far in August, shipments of Urals — which loads from Baltic and Black Sea ports — were almost 75,000 barrels a day. That's almost double the year-to-date average of about 40,000 barrels, according to Kpler. In contrast, exports to India sunk to no more than 400,000 barrels a day this month, compared with the average of 1.18 million. 'Generally, Chinese refineries are in a comfortable position to keep taking Russian oil for now, in contrast to Indian refiners,' said Jianan Sun, an analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd. Urals — which ships from Russia's west — remains competitive against alternative grades from the Middle East, Sun said. The global oil market is focused on shifts in global flows as US President Donald Trump steps up a diplomatic push to try and broker an end to the war in Ukraine. As part of that drive, Washington has doubled a levy on all Indian imports to punish the nation for taking Russian crude, although it hasn't yet followed through with a comparable measure against China amid a trade truce with Beijing. The Asian nations are the top buyers of Moscow's oil. The differing approaches — which have presented Chinese refiners with a buying opportunity — have been on display in recent days. Last Friday, Trump said he would hold off on raising tariffs on Chinese goods over the country's purchases of Russian oil, citing progress with Russian President Vladimir Putin toward ending the war. Meanwhile, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has described India's buying as 'opportunistic and deeply corrosive,' while also acknowledging that the US can't go further on China without hurting itself. 'One thing is certain: Trump will not do things which he knows he cannot achieve,' said Mukesh Sahdev, head of commodity markets at Rystad Energy A/S. 'Putting pressure on India, he has certainly achieved and he can make an impact, but putting pressure on China? Probably not.' Refiners in China, Asia's largest economy, have likely purchased 10 to 15 cargoes of Urals for October and November delivery so far, more than their usual intake, according to Kpler and Energy Aspects. 'I won't be surprised to see more November-delivered cargoes to be bought by the Chinese in the coming days' if Urals prices remained attractive, said Muyu Xu, senior crude analyst at Kpler. The grade was most recently offered at $1 a barrel premium over Dated Brent, with no further discounts seen, following elevated interest from Chinese refiners, according to traders in the market who asked not to be identified. At present, at least two tankers carrying Urals — each with capacity of 1 million barrels — are waiting off China's coast, with more expected in coming weeks, according to tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The vessels — Georgy Maslov and Zenith — are idling near Zhoushan. That's the base for Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co., and also close to strategic storage tanks. Indian processors remain on the sidelines, although they have been receiving and considering offers for Urals, the traders said. Excess Russian barrels 'have to be removed, and those barrels can only be removed by China into storage,' said Sahdev. 'Without China buying, the Russian crude may start discounting more to get new buyers.'
