Russia Humiliates Trump With 5% Oil Discount To India Amid Fierce Sanctions Battle And Tariff War
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India Today
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- India Today
Losing India would be a strategic disaster in face of China: Nikki Haley to Trump
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, warned that US-India relations are at a breaking point and must be repaired quickly if Washington hopes to contain China's global a Newsweek op-ed published Wednesday, Haley said the Trump administration cannot afford to let tariffs and disputes over Russian oil drive a wedge between the world's two largest United States should not lose sight of what matters most: our shared goals," she wrote. "To face China, the United States must have a friend in India."WASHINGTON, NEW DELHI AT ODDS OVER RUSSIA OIL Tensions escalated after President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs and an additional 25 per cent levy on New Delhi for continuing to buy Russian oil. The move followed months of friction, including claims over America's role in India-Pakistan ceasefire backed Trump's pressure campaign, saying India's energy purchases "are helping to fund Vladimir Putin's brutal war against Ukraine."But she cautioned against treating India like an adversary. "Scuttling 25 years of momentum with the only country that can serve as a counterweight to Chinese dominance in Asia would be a strategic disaster," she argued that India is essential to Washington's economic and security goals. As the United States seeks to shift supply chains away from China, India offers manufacturing capacity "at China-like scale" for industries like textiles, phones and solar pointed at India's increasing defence ties with the United States and allies like Israel make it a "crucial asset to the free world's security."INDIA'S RISE COULD SURPASS CHINA'S IMPACTIn the long run, she added, India's rise may be the most significant geopolitical development since China's economic ascent. "Simply put, China's ambitions will have to shrink as India's power grows," Haley former South Carolina governor urged direct talks between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to end what she called a "downward spiral."Without action, she warned, Beijing would exploit the rift. "It would be a massive -- and preventable -- mistake to balloon a trade spat into an enduring rupture."Haley concluded by echoing Ronald Reagan's words to Indira Gandhi at the White House in 1982: although Washington and New Delhi may at times "travel separate paths," their destination should remain the same."The United States should not lose sight of what matters most: our shared goals. To face China, the United States must have a friend in India," she wrote.- EndsWith inputs from agenciesMust Watch
India Today
24 minutes ago
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Why Putin's delegation used cash to refuel jets during Trump summit
Russian President Vladimir Putin's delegation had to pay nearly USD 250,000 (about Rs 2.2 crore) in cash to refuel three aircraft during a high-stakes summit with US President Donald Trump in Alaska on August 15, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News that the unusual payment was a direct consequence of US banking sanctions against Moscow, which prevent Russian officials from using the American financial system. 'When the Russians landed in Alaska, they were there to refuel. They had to offer to pay in cash to refuel their aeroplanes because they can't use our banking system,' he face consequences every single day, but the bottom line is that it has not altered the direction of this war. That doesn't mean those sanctions were inappropriate; it means it hasn't altered the outcome of it," he added. Putin and his team remained in Alaska for nearly five hours, attending a nearly three-hour meeting with Trump. While Trump later stated that 'no deal' or ceasefire agreement had been reached, reports indicate Russia presented a proposal that Trump encouraged Ukraine to meeting Putin, Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington on Monday to discuss lasting security guarantees for Kyiv. Zelenskyy said he was willing to hold direct talks with Putin but rejected any deal involving territorial defended the existing sanctions' regime, saying all measures imposed before Trump took office remain intact and continue to exert daily pressure on Russia. However, he acknowledged that these penalties have not significantly altered the course of the conflict. 'Sanctions take months and sometimes years to bite,' he said, arguing that additional sanctions could jeopardize ongoing diplomatic efforts to bring both sides to the negotiating table.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Hindustan Times
24 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Russia says oil trade with India won't be hit amid Trump tariffs, EU sanctions
Russia on Wednesday dismissed concerns about sanctions and tariffs imposed by the US and European Union (EU) hitting oil supplies to India, with senior Russian officials saying Moscow has a 'very special mechanism' to get around punitive measures imposed by the Donald Trump administration to curb energy trade. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Russia's deputy PM, Denis Manturov, during the 26th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation IRIGC-TEC, in Moscow on Wednesday. (ANI) Russia also remains a 'partner of choice' for India in defence, and hostilities between India and Pakistan in May served as a 'very successful battle test' for Russian weaponry such as the S-400 air defence system, chargé d'affaires Roman Babushkin told a media briefing. He confirmed that President Vladimir Putin will travel to India later this year for an annual summit though dates are yet to be finalised. India is the second largest buyer of Russian oil after China, and Moscow accounts for almost 40% of the country's energy supplies. Purchases were significantly ramped up after the West slapped sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The US is set to impose a 25% punitive tariff on Indian exports from August 28 over Russian oil purchases, which will be in addition to a 25% reciprocal tariff. ALSO READ | Eye on US, Jaishankar says India, Russia need to be creative to overcome challenges Babushkin and deputy trade commissioner Evgeny Griva, however, were confident that Russia would be able to circumvent pressure from the US and its Western allies over energy trade with India. 'Despite the political situation, we can predict that the level of crude oil imports would be approximately the same,' Griva said. 'Definitely, there are some mechanisms to supply crude oil. We can't discuss it because it's really a very special mechanism.' Babushkin added: 'This is not the first time our trade and economic relations [have been] threatened by external factors. But each and every time, we have managed to succeed in finding ways to cooperate further based on our mutual national interests. We are quite certain that our cooperation will continue.' ALSO READ | Moscow expects to join Sudarshan Chakra air defence shield: Russian official The officials said oil supplies to Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, jointly owned by Russian energy giant Rosneft and an investment consortium, hadn't been impacted after it was targeted under a EU sanctions package in July. The Vadinar facility, in which Rosneft has a 49.13% stake, is India's second largest single-site refinery with an annual capacity of 20 million metric tonnes (MMT). Russia has a mechanism to tackle shipping and insurance-related issues due to EU sanctions and crude is supplied directly to the refinery as it is a subsidiary of Rosneft, Griva said. 'The recent package of sanctions against Russia from the EU would not have much impact on Russian oil trade because we have been able to significantly reduce our dependence on services the EU provides in recent years,' Babushkin added. The officials, however, acknowledged that a 5% swing is possible in oil import prices amid the Western tariffs and sanctions, though this will be subject to negotiation. They also said India and Russia were on track to achieve the target of driving bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030, thanks to a stable growth of about 10% annually. Bilateral trade touched a record high of $68.7 billion in 2024-25, though India's exports were worth only $4.88 billion, and Babushkin said Russia is working to address the trade imbalance. 'We need to reduce the trade imbalance, which is currently about $60 billion. We will remove barriers to trade, facilitate interaction within business circles and give a new push to alternative logistics corridors. And we will further develop our payments and transactions mechanisms,' Babushkin said. Against the backdrop of strident criticism of India's purchases of Russian weaponry and military hardware by US President Donald Trump and senior American officials, Babushkin said Russia remains the 'partner of choice for India' in defence and pointed to the joint development of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile since 1998. ALSO READ | 'Friends do not impose sanctions': Russia's 5 big remarks amid US tariff row 'We have dramatically expanded the programme of our joint engagements for co-production of various sophisticated weapons,' he said. 'A Russian weapon is a natural choice for the Indian Army general. Operation Sindoor was a very successful battle test for the Russian systems and S-400 was one of them.' India used both the BrahMos missile and the S-400 air defence system during Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 to target terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, and the subsequent four days of hostilities between the two countries. The Russian-origin Su-30 combat jet was also used during the hostilities to fire the BrahMos missile, and a Pakistan surveillance aircraft was shot down at a distance of about 300 km by the S-400. Babushkin said Russia is expected to be part of India's plans to create a new long-range air defence shield called Sudarshan Chakra, which was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech. The system, integrated with offensive weapons, is expected to be operational by 2035 to guard cities and vital infrastructure. ALSO READ | 'India matters': Backing 'friend', Russia says West's criticism means all is okay Babushkin noted that the S-400 is already part of India's air defence system and said: 'We proceed from the understanding that when it comes to the advancement of these systems, Russian equipment will be part of it.' The Russian officials were speaking hours after external affairs minister S Jaishankar arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for talks with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov and to co-chair a meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) with deputy prime minister Denis Manturov. Babushkin said these engagements are part of preparations for Putin's planned visit later in the year for a summit with Modi. Putin also dialled Modi twice in the past fortnight to brief him on developments in Ukraine and his summit with Trump in Alaska. The two sides are working on a comprehensive agenda for the annual summit that will include trade, investments, energy cooperation, infrastructure and nuclear power, including small and modular reactors, he said.
