More Russian Insurers Seek Indian Nod for Oil Tanker Coverage
Four new Russian companies have sought India's approval to provide insurance for crude oil tankers docking at ports in the South Asian nation, according to people familiar with the matter.
India's shipping ministry is considering applications from Sberbank Insurance, which is sanctioned by the US, as well as from Balance Insurance , Ugoria Insurance and ASTK, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing sensitive issues. The firms aim to provide protection and indemnity coverage to Russian oil tankers, they said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump considers new sanctions against Russia if no truce is reached
US President Donald Trump has stated that he may impose additional sanctions against Russia if necessary. Source: Trump in a conversation with a journalist on board Air Force One, as reported by European Pravda Details: Trump indicated that, if he determines Russia is unwilling to negotiate or halt the bloodshed, he will apply further sanctions. He noted that senators, many of whom supported a bill to strengthen sanctions against Russia, have left the decision to him. "I haven't spoken about it. They have a bill – it's going to be up to me; it's my option. They made it that way, and they would save a lot of time if that happens. So I'm okay with it. I haven't decided to use it. It's a very strong bill," Trump said. Background: Senators Lindsey Graham (Republican) and Richard Blumenthal (Democrat), supported by 82 co-sponsors, introduced the bill to impose economic sanctions on Russia for obstructing ceasefire efforts in its war of aggression against Ukraine, particularly by imposing a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that purchase Russian oil. The bill also has bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, where a companion bill has 33 co-sponsors. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump would make the final decision on any potential tightening of sanctions against Russia. Media reports suggest that the Trump administration urged Graham to soften the sanctions against Russia in the bill, which enjoys overwhelming support in the Senate. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Graham wants to punish Russia with ‘bone-crushing' sanctions. It could backfire.
Sen. Lindsey Graham has pledged that his expansive sanctions bill would be 'bone crushing' for the Russian economy. But if enacted, the South Carolina Republican's proposal to impose 500 percent tariffs on any country that buys Russian energy would effectively cut the U.S. off from some of the world's largest economies — including allies in Europe. 'A 500 percent tariff is essentially a hard decoupling,' said Kevin Book, managing director of Clear View Energy Partners, an energy research firm. Graham appeared to acknowledge as much on Wednesday, when he proposed a broad carve-out for countries that provide aid to Ukraine. This exemption would spare the European Union, which continues to import almost 20 percent of its gas from Russia. But experts remain skeptical that the sky-high tariffs proposed in the Sanctioning Russia Act are in any way feasible. India and China buy roughly 70 percent of Russian energy exports, but several other countries that buy any oil, gas or uranium from Moscow — and aren't included in the carve-out — could also be exposed to tariffs under the bill. The United States, which is still reliant on imports of enriched uranium from Russia to fuel its nuclear reactors, could also run afoul of the bill. Edward Fishman, a senior researcher with the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said countries in the crosshairs of the bill would struggle to halt their imports of Russian energy overnight. Tariffs of 500 percent on imports of goods made in China would send prices soaring, disrupt supply chains and could drive up U.S. unemployment to recessionary levels. Most likely, it would lead to a screeching halt in U.S. trade with China. 'It would hurt Americans quite a bit,' Fishman said. The legislation's goal, co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), is to starve Russia's war economy, which continues to earn hundreds of billions of dollars from energy exports. There is widespread support for the overall objective, with 82 senators signing on to Graham's bill so far, and growing support for a companion bill in the House. The bill is likely to change significantly as it moves through Congress and in consultations with the Trump administration, said Matt Zweig, senior policy director of FDD Action, a nonprofit advocacy organization affiliated with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. It may also take a long time. 'With sanctions legislation, you're also normally dealing with iterative processes where you would want to go through every nook and cranny,' Zweig said. Still, the widespread bipartisan support for the legislation suggests there is a high degree of support among lawmakers for tougher action on Russia. "What Congress may be doing is pressuring the executive branch to act,' said Adam Smith, a partner at the law firm Gibson Dunn. "There is a sense in the Senate that more sanctions on Russia need to be imposed, or ought to be imposed,' added Smith, who was a senior adviser to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control during the Obama administration. Graham, the bill's most vocal Republican advocate, said as much in a meeting with reporters in Paris over the weekend, where he described the bill as 'one of the most draconian sanctions bills ever written.' 'The Senate is pissed that Russia is playing a game at our expense and the world's expense. And we are willing to do something we haven't been willing to do before — and that is go after people that have been helping Putin,' Graham said. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, dismissed concerns that the bill is too harsh. "We need to make Putin understand he has to stop screwing around and come to the table. But we also need to follow it up and make clear we will be tough," she said. Not everyone agrees. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has long been skeptical about the effectiveness of sanctions to change the behavior of U.S. adversaries, bashed the bill on Monday as 'literally the most ill-conceived bill I've ever seen in Washington,' he said. 'It would be a worldwide embargo on 36 countries.' Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have made little progress on peace talks. Officials from both countries met in Istanbul on Monday and agreed to a further prisoner swap, but failed to achieve any major breakthroughs. Graham and Blumenthal visited Ukraine, France and Germany during last week's congressional recess, where they discussed the sanctions bill, as well as efforts to push Russia to the negotiating table. The proposal has been welcomed by European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, who met with Graham in Berlin on Monday. 'Pressure works, as the Kremlin understands nothing else,' Von der Leyen said in a statement. 'These steps, taken together with U.S. measures, would sharply increase the joint impact of our sanctions.' Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated Monday that the chamber could take up the legislation later this month. Republican senators have said they would like to secure the approval of the White House before moving forward. The proposed use of blanket tariffs to target countries that continue to do business with Russia's energy sector is novel and appears to be pitched to Trump's interests. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump viewed sanctions as "a tool in his toolbox,' but declined to comment about his position on the bill. Trump appeared to be inching closer toward supporting the bill in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, which linked to an op-ed in The Washington Post supporting the legislation. Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump indicated he wanted lawmakers to secure his approval before moving forward with the bill. 'They're waiting for me to decide on what to do,' he said, describing the legislation as a 'harsh bill.' The president has liberally wielded tariffs to advance his foreign policy agenda, but his implementation has been spotty. Wall Street has even adopted a trading strategy referencing Trump's capriciousness called TACO, which stands for 'Trump Always Chickens Out.' Tariffs of 145 percent on China, imposed in April, lasted a month before being dramatically scaled back to make way for trade talks, which have so far failed to secure a breakthrough. As it stands, the bill includes some levers that Trump could pull to forestall the tariffs, requiring the president to make a formal determination that Russia is refusing to negotiate or has violated any future peace agreement. Nahal Toosi, Joshua Berlinger, Phelim Kine and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
The Bulletin June 6, 2025
The rundown: Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev poked fun at the explosive war of words between U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, offering to mediate peace between the two political allies. Read his take on the Trump-Musk fallout. Why it matters: "We are ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal between D and E for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment," Medvedev, a former president and prime minister of Russia, posted to X. The explosive feud between Trump and Musk marks a dramatic shift in their once-close relationship, as the latter has been one of the president's most prominent allies and donors. Musk and Trump began publicly feuding after the Tesla CEO ramped up his criticisms of the president's "Big, Beautiful Bill," which he described as a "disgusting abomination" and condemned for increasing the budget deficit. Meanwhile, Trump took to Truth Social to declare that he will terminate Musk's companies' governmental subsidies and contracts. Read more in-depth coverage: Could Elon Musk Be Deported By Donald Trump? What to Know TL/DR: His comments come at a time when Trump is trying to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine to end Moscow's ongoing invasion. What happens now? It's unclear how the Trump-Musk feud will continue to unfold in the coming days and weeks. The "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" has passed the House and is now before the Senate. Musk's criticism could embolden fiscally cautious senators to push for changes. Deeper reading Russia's Medvedev Mocks Fight Between Donald Trump and Elon Musk
