Putin meets top Iranian adviser Larijani, discusses Middle East tensions, nuclear issues
The two discussed the escalating situation in the Middle East and issues surrounding Iran's nuclear programme.
Putin reaffirmed Russia's position in favour of stabilising the region and pursuing a political resolution to matters related to Iran's nuclear activities, Peskov said.
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NDTV
11 minutes ago
- NDTV
"In Securing Our Energy Needs...": India's Calm Reply To US' Russia Oil Fury
New Delhi: India has issued a measured reply to US' criticism of its continued Russian oil purchases. "In securing our energy needs, we are guided by what is on offer in the market and the prevailing global circumstance," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Friday. The US has ramped up pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil, arguing it amounts to funding Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the purchases "a point of irritation" in comments this morning, as Delhi and Washington toil to secure a trade deal and scale down Donald Trump's 25 per cent 'reciprocal tariff'. Rubio acknowledged India's vast energy needs - analysts expect crude oil demand from the world's fourth largest economy to cross 6.6 million barrels per day by 2030 - and that it was buying oil and gas from Russia because the sanction-hit country is offering steep discounts. "But that, unfortunately, is helping to sustain the Russian war effort. So, it is most certainly a point of irritation in our relationship with India," he told American broadcaster Fox News. Trump, he said, expressed "very clear frustration… with so many vendors available India continues to buy so much from Russia, which in essence is helping to fund the war effort…" Rubio's comments follow Trump's scathing remarks about Delhi still buying crude and gas from Moscow. The US President pointed out Russian oil accounted for 35 per cent of India's supply in the first half of the year, and demanded it, instead, buy from his country. On Thursday Trump decreed a 25 per cent 'reciprocal tariff' on Indian goods imported into the US and levied an unspecified penalty for buying Russian oil and weapons. NDTV Explains | The Story Behind Donald Trump's 25% 'Reciprocal Tariff' On India "... they (India) have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of energy... at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine. India will, therefore, be paying a tariff of 25 per cent, plus a penalty..." The new tariff - to which India will not retaliate, at this time - came into effect this morning. India has always said Russia is a 'close, all-weather friend", and that it will not be bullied, by any country, into re-defining decades-old foreign policies and current economic concerns. In the past - when faced with criticism over buying Russian oil - External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, quite categorically, that India would prioritise its citizens' needs first. READ | US Penalty On Buying Russian Oil. What Is India's Stance This, he said, would mean buying oil from anyone who sells at the best possible price. "India is a big oil consumer... We are a big oil importer because we don't have oil. Now, it is not like there is a political strategy to buy oil... There is an oil strategy to buy oil... There is a market strategy," Mr Jaishankar said in August 2024. Prior to the war in Ukraine, India rarely bought Russian crude due to high freight costs. By 2023, though, Moscow was selling about 1.66 million barrels per day, up from less than 700,000 in 2022. India eventually became the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude since the West halted purchases and imposed sanctions against Moscow. In an effort to placate Trump, India committed, in February, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Trump in Washington, to buy more oil and gas from the US, which will also help, to some extent, hit the ambitious mark of $500 billion in bilateral trade within the next five years. However, the sheer volume of India's energy demands means the US cannot be the sole, or even a major, supplier. As of today, India's largest are Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
News18
11 minutes ago
- News18
How Will Trump's 25% Tariff Impact Indian Exports? PM Modi Trump Tariffs On India
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a 25% tariff on all Indian imports starting August 1, along with an unspecified penalty over India's purchase of Russian crude and military gear. In this video, we break down how this move could hurt Indian exports—especially textiles, telecom, pharmaceuticals, gems, and MSMEs—and what it means for future trade talks with the US. Experts say the impact could be temporary—but significant—for labour-intensive sectors. Watch the full analysis. News18 Mobile App -
Hindustan Times
11 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
How a Youth-Led Backlash Pushed Zelensky to His Biggest U-Turn Yet
KYIV—Anton Tymoshenko, a popular Ukrainian comedian, pressed into the protest crowd here last week holding a speaker above his head playing the voice of another humorist—the one who is now Ukraine's president. If you encounter corruption, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the 2019 message playing on Tymoshenko's speaker, call the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine. Zelensky's stripping of power from NABU last week set off the biggest protests in Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, sending thousands to the streets and lifting the lid on discontent that had been simmering for months despite broad support for his role as a wartime leader. Two days after signing a bill bringing anticorruption institutions including NABU under the control of a prosecutor appointed by the president, Zelensky reversed course, proposing a new bill restoring their independence. Zelensky signed it into law Thursday after Parliament overwhelmingly voted to pass it. The session reflected the commotion of the moment, with two lawmakers scuffling and one holding up his middle finger during a speech. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Kyiv to support the reinstatement of anticorruption powers watched the livestream on their phones, booing some and letting out a cheer when the law passed. 'It is very important that the state listens to public opinion,' said Zelensky in a video address after signing the law. 'Ukraine is a democracy—absolutely no doubt about it.' The swift reversal shows the enduring power of street politics in Ukraine, this time led by a chorus of youthful figures holding up cardboard signs with their acerbic demands. 'The main source of power in this country is people with cardboard signs,' said the 31-year-old Tymoshenko, whose popular live shows often poke fun at Ukrainian politics and society while raising funds for the army. The unrest comes at a difficult moment for Ukraine, which is slowly losing ground to Russia's grinding tactics at the front, while civilians experience drone-and-missiles attacks nearly every night. In Kyiv early Thursday, Russian air raids killed at least 14, including a 6-year-old boy, and injured more than 100, Zelensky said. Despite the bombardments, Kyivans have continued to gather with their cardboard signs. The protests of people like Tymoshenko and other Ukrainians—including veterans, service members and seasoned protesters—have turned the tables on Zelensky, whose election campaign presented him as an outsider crusading against corruption and authoritarianism. At issue is what anticorruption activists, opposition lawmakers and protesters see as the consolidation of power in the president's office. Besides the stripping of independence from anticorruption bodies by parliament, the Ukrainian government has declined to appoint a leader of the Economic Security Bureau, a law-enforcement agency investigating financial crimes. Anticorruption investigators have also faced mass searches. Guillaume Mercier, a spokesman for the European Union commission for enlargement, welcomed the bill's passage but said Ukraine still has many reforms to enact to make progress toward its aim of joining the EU. Those include appointing internationally-vetted judges to its constitutional court and appointing the head of the Economic Security Bureau. The controversies have dented Zelensky's popularity. His trust rating stood at 37% before the war, soaring to 90% immediately after and dipping to 65% in June, according to polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. The crisis has animated Zelensky's opponents, including former top general Valeriy Zaluzhniy, former President Petro Poroshenko and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, all of whom opposed the law. Zaluzhniy, widely considered to be Zelensky's most viable challenger should an election take place, was recently featured in a Ukrainian Vogue photo shoot and article, in which he nodded to a need for unity in the country. Former general Valeriy Zaluzhniy recently featured in a Ukrainian Vogue photo shoot. Still, there is no immediate threat to Zelensky even as he walks a tightrope between the actions of his government and the demands of his electorate. Zelensky and Andriy Yermak, the head of the president's office and a lightning rod for criticism, have said it was important for Ukrainians to feel as if they had been heard. Speaking to reporters last week, Zelensky said there should have been a dialogue before the law was enshrined. 'We all must listen to the people,' he said. 'I believe this is the most important thing. Because the main challenge is the war. And the most important thing in this war is the unity of our state. It is critical not to lose the unity.' Skepticism remains. Zelensky's image as a wartime leader who bravely remained in his country in the face of Russia's might has been marred by the issue, both at home and abroad. European partners have expressed concern and Ukrainians, too, are watching the president's moves closely, ready to return to the streets. Speaking at a protest last week, Dmytro Koziatynsky, a former battlefield medic who was among the first to call for Ukrainians to gather, said he asked for politicians to steer clear so that the protests remain apolitical. Those who came were shouted down and asked to leave. Dmytro Koziatynsky, a former medic, at a protest in Ivana Franka Square. The protesters who gathered took care to not tread on flower beds in Ivana Franka square, downhill from government quarters, even as the roughly 5,000 attendees spilled out onto adjoining streets. Protesters spoke of their pride in Ukraine as a country of peaceful dissent despite the war, noting the two street revolutions that led to changes in power in the country since it declared independence in 1991. 'The real opposition in Ukraine has always been the people,' said Koziatynsky. 'And it is precisely the people who control the authorities and don't let them slide into either authoritarianism or something similarly inadequate.' How a Youth-Led Backlash Pushed Zelensky to His Biggest U-Turn Yet
