
Putin shares insights with PM Modi on Trump meeting, India reiterates call for peaceful resolution
PM Modi said India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard.
He thanked the Russian President for the phone call and for sharing his perspective on the Alaska meeting.
"Thank my friend, President Putin, for his phone call and for sharing insights on his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska. India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard. I look forward to our continued exchanges in the days to come," PM Modi said in a post on X.
India had welcomed the US-Russia Summit meeting and appreciated the progress made.
"India welcomes the Summit meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Their leadership in the pursuit of peace is highly commendable," MEA spokesperson had said in a statement on July 16.
"India appreciates the progress made in the Summit. The way forward can only be through dialogue and diplomacy. The world wants to see an early end to the conflict in Ukraine," the statement added.
While the Summit meeting was anticipated to take about seven hours, it wrapped up in less than three. Trump and Putin addressed a gathering of journalists after the talks with relatively brief pre-prepared statements. Neither leader took any questions, according to Al Jazeera.
Putin said his country is committed to ending the war, but the conflict's "primary causes" must be eliminated for an agreement to be long-lasting.
Putin also warned Ukraine and the European Union against throwing a "wrench in the works" and cautioned against attempts to use "backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress," as per Al Jazeera.
Trump praised the "extremely productive meeting", in which he said "many points were agreed to". He said there is a "very good chance of getting there" - referring to a ceasefire - but conceded that there remain sticking points with Moscow, including at least one "significant" one.
He cautioned that it's "ultimately up to them" - referring to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "There's no deal until there's a deal," he said.
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Observer
an hour ago
- Observer
Alaska summit wasn't about Ukraine
'When elephants collide, the grass suffers.' But the grass also suffers when elephants whisper. The recent Alaska meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended with no ceasefire in Ukraine, despite weeks of hype. That failure was the headline, but it masked the real story. The summit was not about Ukraine; it was about carving up influence, dividing corridors and replaying a century-old script that the Arab world knows too well. The Corridor Behind the Curtain If Ukraine were the real agenda, Alaska would have produced at least a road map for de-escalation. Instead, the unspoken focus was the South Caucasus. The US is advancing the Zangezur corridor, cutting across Armenia to link Azerbaijan with Türkiye and onward to Central Asia. For Ankara and Baku, it's a geopolitical victory; for Iran, it feels like encirclement; for Russia, it signals a slow squeeze on its influence. For Washington, the corridor is a chance to redraw Eurasia's map without firing a shot. For Moscow, tolerating Western-backed routes may be a price worth paying if it gets space to freeze Ukraine on its own terms. Alaska, therefore, was about bargaining over maps, not about saving lives. Sykes–Picot in a New Disguise The Middle East has seen this play before. The Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916 divided Ottoman Arab lands between Britain and France, planting borders that still bleed. The Yalta Conference of 1945 carved Europe into Western and Soviet zones, condemning Eastern Europe to decades behind the Iron Curtain. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 secretly split Eastern Europe between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, erasing nations from the map overnight. Each case followed the same pattern: great powers publicly spoke of peace, while privately negotiating partitions. Those absent at the table paid the price. Alaska feels like a modern Sykes-Picot this time not with ink on colonial maps, but with corridors, pipelines and digital arteries. Palestine: The Grass Beneath the Bargain Nowhere is the cost clearer than in Palestine. As Palestinians endure genocide, their survival is not at the centre of Alaska's chessboard. Both Washington and Moscow deploy Palestine as rhetoric, not as policy. The Israeli Occupation continues its genocidal campaign with tacit US protection; Russia frames itself as anti-Western but offers no tangible support. Just as Palestine was sidelined in the Sykes-Picot carve-up, it risks being sidelined again in today's global bargains. Unless Arab and Islamic states hardwire enforcement, through humanitarian corridors, sanctions on war crimes, and legal pursuit in the ICJ and ICC, Palestine will remain the perennial victim of great-power 'understandings.' Lessons for the Islamic and Arab World The Alaska summit carries three urgent lessons: 1. Corridors are the new borders. Whether Zangezur or Belt and Road, control over connectivity is control over power. The Arab world must invest in shaping, not just using, trade and energy corridors. 2. Never trust transactional peace. Yalta left Eastern Europe trapped; Sykes-Picot fractured the South West Asia North Africa region (SWANA). Alaska warns that Arab and Islamic states could see their resources and sovereignty treated as bargaining chips. 3. Make Palestine non-negotiable. Empty statements no longer suffice. Pair diplomacy with leverage: Gulf-backed humanitarian supply lines, targeted sanctions against inciters of genocide and Arab-led legal coalitions. Justice for Palestine must become the price of admission in any wider deal. Drawing Our Own Lines Alaska was not about Ukraine any more than Sykes-Picot was about Arab independence. Both were about outsiders scripting the future of others. A century ago, Sykes-Picot drew borders that ignored the will of the people. Today, corridors and resource routes risk becoming the new colonial ink. The Islamic and Arab world cannot allow history to repeat itself. Either we accept being 'the grass' under the feet of colliding elephants, or we become the gardeners, planting our own routes, setting our own rules and ensuring that Palestine is not erased from the map by silence. Alaska is a warning: If we do not draw our own lines, others will draw them for us. Khalid Al Huraibi, The writer is an innovator and an insights storyteller


Times of Oman
5 hours ago
- Times of Oman
What European leaders achieved on Ukraine at Washington summit?
Washington, DC: The mood at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday appeared quite different from the debacle earlier this year when US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance scolded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the cameras. On Monday, Zelenskyy walked into the Oval Office in a crisp navy suit, not his trademark olive fatigues, and handed Trump a personal letter from his wife, Olena, to First Lady Melania Trump. The letter, thanking her for raising the plight of Ukraine's abducted children with Putin, seemed to set a more diplomatic tone. European leaders were determined to support him. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were among those who made the trip to Washington on short notice. They sat in a protective semicircle around Zelenskyy, keen to ensure that another Oval Office humiliation was avoided and that the trans-Atlantic alliance held. 'This was a meeting where Europeans had the chance to show their unity and determination,' said Almut Möller, Director of European and Global Affairs at the European Policy Centre, to DW. Progress on security guarantees The European leaders' clearest goal of the White House talks was Trump's public endorsement of security guarantees. The US president delivered; standing beside Zelenskyy, he pledged that the US would 'coordinate' with Europe on protections for Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte described them as 'Article 5-type guarantees' without NATO membership. Article 5 is the alliance's mutual defense clause, stating that an attack on one member nation is an attack on all. That reassurance mattered in Europe, as fear had risen that Trump might again lean towards Russia after he met President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Yet the details of the security guarantees remain undefined. Trump equally pushed back on Europe's call for a ceasefire as a starting point. After the meeting, Rutte told Fox News, a US news broadcaster, that there are currently 30 countries in the mix in the so-called 'Coalition of the Willing.' Their defence ministers could meet as early as this week to begin ironing out the details of these security guarantees. Zelenskyy was hopeful, telling reporters the guarantees will 'be formalised on paper within the next week to 10 days.' In an interview with DW, researcher Tinatin Akhvlediani at the Brussels Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) evaluated these announcements of security guarantees as an essential step, 'especially if the United States is engaged in backing them up.' However, she warns that this backup is essential 'because, as we know, the United States currently provides the military equipment and weaponry that the EU cannot replace.' Land concessions off the agenda but not off the table Equally important was what did not happen. During the meeting, there was no mention of Ukraine ceding territory. The Financial Times reported that one European official who was part of the delegation to Washington said that Trump explained, 'That is not my business, that is a matter for Ukraine,' effectively ruling out forcing land swaps. Akhvlediani maintained that the risk remains. 'We will have to see what happens next, as we don't know what exactly happened behind closed doors.' As of now, Putin continues to demand Ukrainian withdrawal from parts of Donetsk and Luhansk. French President Macron openly voiced doubts about the Kremlin's intentions: 'His ultimate goal is to take as much territory as possible,' the French president warned. A pivotal meeting ahead? According to the Kremlin, Trump interrupted the talks with Zelenskyy and the European leaders to conduct a 40-minute call with Putin. The US president then moved the process forward by proposing a trilateral summit with himself, Zelenskyy and Putin, possibly within weeks. While no date and location have been set, European leaders said they would support such a meeting if it reinforced Ukraine's sovereignty and avoided concessions imposed from outside. Both analysts agree that such a meeting is of utmost importance. 'Putin now has to show that he wants peace,' Möller said. For Europe, direct talks between Ukraine and Russia carry both opportunity and risk. It could mark the beginning of a genuine peace process or open the door to renewed pressure on Ukraine to compromise, this time without European leaders by his side. Europe's new role For the European leaders in attendance, the summit went beyond its outcomes. The talks showed that Europe can be more than a bystander and is willing to go the extra mile regarding security guarantees, Möller said. 'This is about each and every European leader sitting in this room, knowing that there is a threat out there that this threat might affect their own country. This has brought them together,' he said. German Chancellor Merz echoed that in an interview after the meeting. 'This isn't just about Ukraine's territory; it's about the political order of Europe. Germany has a major interest and a major responsibility.' The mood in Europe was cautiously optimistic after the summit. 'Since Trump returned to the White House, the trans-Atlantic alliance has never been as strong,' Akhvlediani argued, stressing that European leaders had succeeded in steering him back toward historical allies. The outcome of the talks also remains provisional. 'Trump can change his views very quickly,' Möller notes. 'This is an evolving situation, and I am hesitant to think of this as a very important moment in this process towards finding peace for Ukraine and territorial integrity for Ukraine.' More steps will be needed, yet one lesson stood out: Europe has no choice but to stand united. The challenge is immense, Möller added, but 'Europe has no alternative but to try, and they are doing the right things.'


Times of Oman
8 hours ago
- Times of Oman
"Healthy India-China relationship serves long term interests of both countries", says Chinese FM Wang Yi
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