Trump to be the most ‘consequential president of our lifetime' amid Putin meeting
This comes as Mr Trump intends to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
'I think it will mean that he will be the most consequential President of our lifetime,' Mr Davidson told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio.
'This has been kind of ramping up for a while.'
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Perth Now
a few seconds ago
- Perth Now
Ukrainian troops have little hope for peace
Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield express little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war, as US President Donald Trump's deadline arrived for the Kremlin to make peace and he eyed a possible summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Moscow's invasion. Exasperated that Putin did not heed his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, Trump, almost two weeks ago, moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. It was unclear what steps Trump intended to take on Friday. When asked on Thursday whether his deadline would hold, Trump said of Putin: "It's going to be up to him. We're going to see what he has to say. It's going to be up to him. Very disappointed." Trump's efforts to pressure Putin into stopping the fighting have so far delivered no progress. Russia's bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armour while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine stand far apart on their terms for peace. Ukrainian forces are locked in intense battles along the 1000-kilometre front line that snakes from northeast to southeast Ukraine. The Pokrovsk area of the eastern Donetsk region is taking the brunt of punishment as Russia seeks to break out into the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine has significant manpower shortages. Intense fighting is also taking place in Ukraine's northern Sumy border region, where Ukrainian forces are engaging Russian soldiers to prevent reinforcements from being sent from there to Donetsk. In the Pokrovsk area of Donetsk, a commander said he believes Moscow isn't interested in peace. "It is impossible to negotiate with them. The only option is to defeat them," Buda, the Spartan Brigade commander, told The Associated Press. "I would like them to agree and for all this to stop, but Russia will not agree to that. It does not want to negotiate. So the only option is to defeat them," he said. In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a howitzer commander using the call sign Warsaw said troops are determined to thwart Russia's invasion. "We are on our land, we have no way out," he said. The Kremlin said on Friday that Putin had a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which the Russian leader informed Xi about the results of his meeting earlier this week with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. Kremlin officials said Xi "expressed support for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a long-term basis". Putin is due to visit China next month. China, along with North Korea and Iran, have provided military support for Russia's war effort, the US says. Trump said on Thursday that he would meet with Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. That stoked fears in Europe that Ukraine could be sidelined in efforts to stop the continent's biggest conflict since World War II. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday that Europe should take the lead in efforts to end the conflict. Orbán said the leaders of Germany and France should go to Moscow "to negotiate on behalf of Europe". The White House said it was still working through the details of any potential meetings between Trump and Putin. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said in an assessment Thursday that "Putin remains uninterested in ending his war and is attempting to extract bilateral concessions from the United States without meaningfully engaging in a peace process". "Putin continues to believe that time is on Russia's side and that Russia can outlast Ukraine and the West," it said.
The Advertiser
a few seconds ago
- The Advertiser
Ukrainian troops have little hope for peace
Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield express little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war, as US President Donald Trump's deadline arrived for the Kremlin to make peace and he eyed a possible summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Moscow's invasion. Exasperated that Putin did not heed his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, Trump, almost two weeks ago, moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. It was unclear what steps Trump intended to take on Friday. When asked on Thursday whether his deadline would hold, Trump said of Putin: "It's going to be up to him. We're going to see what he has to say. It's going to be up to him. Very disappointed." Trump's efforts to pressure Putin into stopping the fighting have so far delivered no progress. Russia's bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armour while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine stand far apart on their terms for peace. Ukrainian forces are locked in intense battles along the 1000-kilometre front line that snakes from northeast to southeast Ukraine. The Pokrovsk area of the eastern Donetsk region is taking the brunt of punishment as Russia seeks to break out into the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine has significant manpower shortages. Intense fighting is also taking place in Ukraine's northern Sumy border region, where Ukrainian forces are engaging Russian soldiers to prevent reinforcements from being sent from there to Donetsk. In the Pokrovsk area of Donetsk, a commander said he believes Moscow isn't interested in peace. "I would like them to agree and for all this to stop, but Russia will not agree to that. It does not want to negotiate. So the only option is to defeat them," he said. In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a howitzer commander using the call sign Warsaw said troops are determined to thwart Russia's invasion. "We are on our land, we have no way out," he said. The Kremlin said on Friday that Putin had a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which the Russian leader informed Xi about the results of his meeting earlier this week with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. Kremlin officials said Xi "expressed support for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a long-term basis". Putin is due to visit China next month. China, along with North Korea and Iran, have provided military support for Russia's war effort, the US says. Trump said on Thursday that he would meet with Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. That stoked fears in Europe that Ukraine could be sidelined in efforts to stop the continent's biggest conflict since World War II. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday that Europe should take the lead in efforts to end the conflict. Orbán said the leaders of Germany and France should go to Moscow "to negotiate on behalf of Europe". The White House said it was still working through the details of any potential meetings between Trump and Putin. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said in an assessment Thursday that "Putin remains uninterested in ending his war and is attempting to extract bilateral concessions from the United States without meaningfully engaging in a peace process". "Putin continues to believe that time is on Russia's side and that Russia can outlast Ukraine and the West," it said. Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield express little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war, as US President Donald Trump's deadline arrived for the Kremlin to make peace and he eyed a possible summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Moscow's invasion. Exasperated that Putin did not heed his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, Trump, almost two weeks ago, moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. It was unclear what steps Trump intended to take on Friday. When asked on Thursday whether his deadline would hold, Trump said of Putin: "It's going to be up to him. We're going to see what he has to say. It's going to be up to him. Very disappointed." Trump's efforts to pressure Putin into stopping the fighting have so far delivered no progress. Russia's bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armour while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine stand far apart on their terms for peace. Ukrainian forces are locked in intense battles along the 1000-kilometre front line that snakes from northeast to southeast Ukraine. The Pokrovsk area of the eastern Donetsk region is taking the brunt of punishment as Russia seeks to break out into the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine has significant manpower shortages. Intense fighting is also taking place in Ukraine's northern Sumy border region, where Ukrainian forces are engaging Russian soldiers to prevent reinforcements from being sent from there to Donetsk. In the Pokrovsk area of Donetsk, a commander said he believes Moscow isn't interested in peace. "I would like them to agree and for all this to stop, but Russia will not agree to that. It does not want to negotiate. So the only option is to defeat them," he said. In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a howitzer commander using the call sign Warsaw said troops are determined to thwart Russia's invasion. "We are on our land, we have no way out," he said. The Kremlin said on Friday that Putin had a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which the Russian leader informed Xi about the results of his meeting earlier this week with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. Kremlin officials said Xi "expressed support for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a long-term basis". Putin is due to visit China next month. China, along with North Korea and Iran, have provided military support for Russia's war effort, the US says. Trump said on Thursday that he would meet with Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. That stoked fears in Europe that Ukraine could be sidelined in efforts to stop the continent's biggest conflict since World War II. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday that Europe should take the lead in efforts to end the conflict. Orbán said the leaders of Germany and France should go to Moscow "to negotiate on behalf of Europe". The White House said it was still working through the details of any potential meetings between Trump and Putin. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said in an assessment Thursday that "Putin remains uninterested in ending his war and is attempting to extract bilateral concessions from the United States without meaningfully engaging in a peace process". "Putin continues to believe that time is on Russia's side and that Russia can outlast Ukraine and the West," it said. Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield express little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war, as US President Donald Trump's deadline arrived for the Kremlin to make peace and he eyed a possible summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Moscow's invasion. Exasperated that Putin did not heed his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, Trump, almost two weeks ago, moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. It was unclear what steps Trump intended to take on Friday. When asked on Thursday whether his deadline would hold, Trump said of Putin: "It's going to be up to him. We're going to see what he has to say. It's going to be up to him. Very disappointed." Trump's efforts to pressure Putin into stopping the fighting have so far delivered no progress. Russia's bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armour while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine stand far apart on their terms for peace. Ukrainian forces are locked in intense battles along the 1000-kilometre front line that snakes from northeast to southeast Ukraine. The Pokrovsk area of the eastern Donetsk region is taking the brunt of punishment as Russia seeks to break out into the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine has significant manpower shortages. Intense fighting is also taking place in Ukraine's northern Sumy border region, where Ukrainian forces are engaging Russian soldiers to prevent reinforcements from being sent from there to Donetsk. In the Pokrovsk area of Donetsk, a commander said he believes Moscow isn't interested in peace. "I would like them to agree and for all this to stop, but Russia will not agree to that. It does not want to negotiate. So the only option is to defeat them," he said. In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a howitzer commander using the call sign Warsaw said troops are determined to thwart Russia's invasion. "We are on our land, we have no way out," he said. The Kremlin said on Friday that Putin had a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which the Russian leader informed Xi about the results of his meeting earlier this week with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. Kremlin officials said Xi "expressed support for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a long-term basis". Putin is due to visit China next month. China, along with North Korea and Iran, have provided military support for Russia's war effort, the US says. Trump said on Thursday that he would meet with Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. That stoked fears in Europe that Ukraine could be sidelined in efforts to stop the continent's biggest conflict since World War II. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday that Europe should take the lead in efforts to end the conflict. Orbán said the leaders of Germany and France should go to Moscow "to negotiate on behalf of Europe". The White House said it was still working through the details of any potential meetings between Trump and Putin. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said in an assessment Thursday that "Putin remains uninterested in ending his war and is attempting to extract bilateral concessions from the United States without meaningfully engaging in a peace process". "Putin continues to believe that time is on Russia's side and that Russia can outlast Ukraine and the West," it said. Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield express little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war, as US President Donald Trump's deadline arrived for the Kremlin to make peace and he eyed a possible summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Moscow's invasion. Exasperated that Putin did not heed his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, Trump, almost two weeks ago, moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. It was unclear what steps Trump intended to take on Friday. When asked on Thursday whether his deadline would hold, Trump said of Putin: "It's going to be up to him. We're going to see what he has to say. It's going to be up to him. Very disappointed." Trump's efforts to pressure Putin into stopping the fighting have so far delivered no progress. Russia's bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armour while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine stand far apart on their terms for peace. Ukrainian forces are locked in intense battles along the 1000-kilometre front line that snakes from northeast to southeast Ukraine. The Pokrovsk area of the eastern Donetsk region is taking the brunt of punishment as Russia seeks to break out into the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine has significant manpower shortages. Intense fighting is also taking place in Ukraine's northern Sumy border region, where Ukrainian forces are engaging Russian soldiers to prevent reinforcements from being sent from there to Donetsk. In the Pokrovsk area of Donetsk, a commander said he believes Moscow isn't interested in peace. "I would like them to agree and for all this to stop, but Russia will not agree to that. It does not want to negotiate. So the only option is to defeat them," he said. In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a howitzer commander using the call sign Warsaw said troops are determined to thwart Russia's invasion. "We are on our land, we have no way out," he said. The Kremlin said on Friday that Putin had a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which the Russian leader informed Xi about the results of his meeting earlier this week with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. Kremlin officials said Xi "expressed support for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a long-term basis". Putin is due to visit China next month. China, along with North Korea and Iran, have provided military support for Russia's war effort, the US says. Trump said on Thursday that he would meet with Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. That stoked fears in Europe that Ukraine could be sidelined in efforts to stop the continent's biggest conflict since World War II. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday that Europe should take the lead in efforts to end the conflict. Orbán said the leaders of Germany and France should go to Moscow "to negotiate on behalf of Europe". The White House said it was still working through the details of any potential meetings between Trump and Putin. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said in an assessment Thursday that "Putin remains uninterested in ending his war and is attempting to extract bilateral concessions from the United States without meaningfully engaging in a peace process". "Putin continues to believe that time is on Russia's side and that Russia can outlast Ukraine and the West," it said.
The Advertiser
21 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
India pauses plans to buy US arms after Trump's tariffs
New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft, according to three officials familiar with the matter, in India's first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades. India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled, two of the people said. Trump, on August 6, imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50 per cent - among the highest of any US trading partner. The president has a history of rapidly reversing himself on tariffs and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the officials said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarity on tariffs and the direction of bilateral ties, but "just not as soon as they were expected to". Written instructions had not been given to pause the purchases, another official said, indicating that Delhi had the option to quickly reverse course, though there was "no forward movement at least for now". Post publication of this story, India's government issued a statement it attributed to a Ministry of Defence source describing news reports of a pause in the talks as "false and fabricated." The statement also said procurement was progressing as per "extant procedures". Delhi, which has forged a close partnership with America in recent years, has said it is being unfairly targeted and that Washington and its European allies continue to trade with Moscow when it is in their interest. Reuters is reporting for the first time that discussions on India's purchases of Stryker combat vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been paused due to the tariffs. Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in February announced plans to pursue procurement and joint production of those items. Singh had also been planning to announce the purchase of six Boeing P8I reconnaissance aircraft and support systems for the Indian Navy during his now-cancelled trip, two of the people said. Talks over procuring the aircraft in a proposed $US3.6 billion ($A5.5 billion) deal were at an advanced stage, according to the officials. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics referred queries to the Indian and US governments. Raytheon did not return a request for comment. India's deepening security relationship with the US, which is fuelled by their shared strategic rivalry with China, was heralded by many US analysts as one of the key areas of foreign-policy progress in the first Trump administration. Delhi is the world's second-largest arms importer and Russia has traditionally been its top supplier. India has in recent years, however, shifted to importing from Western powers like France, Israel and the US, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank. The shift in suppliers was driven partly by constraints on Russia's ability to export arms, which it is utilising heavily in its invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian weapons have also performed poorly on the battlefield, according to Western analysts. The broader US-India defence partnership, which includes intelligence sharing and joint military exercises, continues without hiccups, one of the Indian officials said. India also remains open to scaling back oil imports from Russia and is open to making deals elsewhere, including the US, if it can get similar prices, according to two other Indian sources. Trump's threats and rising anti-US nationalism in India have "made it politically difficult for Modi to make the shift from Russia to the US," one of the officials said. New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft, according to three officials familiar with the matter, in India's first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades. India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled, two of the people said. Trump, on August 6, imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50 per cent - among the highest of any US trading partner. The president has a history of rapidly reversing himself on tariffs and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the officials said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarity on tariffs and the direction of bilateral ties, but "just not as soon as they were expected to". Written instructions had not been given to pause the purchases, another official said, indicating that Delhi had the option to quickly reverse course, though there was "no forward movement at least for now". Post publication of this story, India's government issued a statement it attributed to a Ministry of Defence source describing news reports of a pause in the talks as "false and fabricated." The statement also said procurement was progressing as per "extant procedures". Delhi, which has forged a close partnership with America in recent years, has said it is being unfairly targeted and that Washington and its European allies continue to trade with Moscow when it is in their interest. Reuters is reporting for the first time that discussions on India's purchases of Stryker combat vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been paused due to the tariffs. Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in February announced plans to pursue procurement and joint production of those items. Singh had also been planning to announce the purchase of six Boeing P8I reconnaissance aircraft and support systems for the Indian Navy during his now-cancelled trip, two of the people said. Talks over procuring the aircraft in a proposed $US3.6 billion ($A5.5 billion) deal were at an advanced stage, according to the officials. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics referred queries to the Indian and US governments. Raytheon did not return a request for comment. India's deepening security relationship with the US, which is fuelled by their shared strategic rivalry with China, was heralded by many US analysts as one of the key areas of foreign-policy progress in the first Trump administration. Delhi is the world's second-largest arms importer and Russia has traditionally been its top supplier. India has in recent years, however, shifted to importing from Western powers like France, Israel and the US, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank. The shift in suppliers was driven partly by constraints on Russia's ability to export arms, which it is utilising heavily in its invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian weapons have also performed poorly on the battlefield, according to Western analysts. The broader US-India defence partnership, which includes intelligence sharing and joint military exercises, continues without hiccups, one of the Indian officials said. India also remains open to scaling back oil imports from Russia and is open to making deals elsewhere, including the US, if it can get similar prices, according to two other Indian sources. Trump's threats and rising anti-US nationalism in India have "made it politically difficult for Modi to make the shift from Russia to the US," one of the officials said. New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft, according to three officials familiar with the matter, in India's first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades. India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled, two of the people said. Trump, on August 6, imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50 per cent - among the highest of any US trading partner. The president has a history of rapidly reversing himself on tariffs and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the officials said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarity on tariffs and the direction of bilateral ties, but "just not as soon as they were expected to". Written instructions had not been given to pause the purchases, another official said, indicating that Delhi had the option to quickly reverse course, though there was "no forward movement at least for now". Post publication of this story, India's government issued a statement it attributed to a Ministry of Defence source describing news reports of a pause in the talks as "false and fabricated." The statement also said procurement was progressing as per "extant procedures". Delhi, which has forged a close partnership with America in recent years, has said it is being unfairly targeted and that Washington and its European allies continue to trade with Moscow when it is in their interest. Reuters is reporting for the first time that discussions on India's purchases of Stryker combat vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been paused due to the tariffs. Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in February announced plans to pursue procurement and joint production of those items. Singh had also been planning to announce the purchase of six Boeing P8I reconnaissance aircraft and support systems for the Indian Navy during his now-cancelled trip, two of the people said. Talks over procuring the aircraft in a proposed $US3.6 billion ($A5.5 billion) deal were at an advanced stage, according to the officials. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics referred queries to the Indian and US governments. Raytheon did not return a request for comment. India's deepening security relationship with the US, which is fuelled by their shared strategic rivalry with China, was heralded by many US analysts as one of the key areas of foreign-policy progress in the first Trump administration. Delhi is the world's second-largest arms importer and Russia has traditionally been its top supplier. India has in recent years, however, shifted to importing from Western powers like France, Israel and the US, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank. The shift in suppliers was driven partly by constraints on Russia's ability to export arms, which it is utilising heavily in its invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian weapons have also performed poorly on the battlefield, according to Western analysts. The broader US-India defence partnership, which includes intelligence sharing and joint military exercises, continues without hiccups, one of the Indian officials said. India also remains open to scaling back oil imports from Russia and is open to making deals elsewhere, including the US, if it can get similar prices, according to two other Indian sources. Trump's threats and rising anti-US nationalism in India have "made it politically difficult for Modi to make the shift from Russia to the US," one of the officials said. New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft, according to three officials familiar with the matter, in India's first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades. India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled, two of the people said. Trump, on August 6, imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50 per cent - among the highest of any US trading partner. The president has a history of rapidly reversing himself on tariffs and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the officials said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarity on tariffs and the direction of bilateral ties, but "just not as soon as they were expected to". Written instructions had not been given to pause the purchases, another official said, indicating that Delhi had the option to quickly reverse course, though there was "no forward movement at least for now". Post publication of this story, India's government issued a statement it attributed to a Ministry of Defence source describing news reports of a pause in the talks as "false and fabricated." The statement also said procurement was progressing as per "extant procedures". Delhi, which has forged a close partnership with America in recent years, has said it is being unfairly targeted and that Washington and its European allies continue to trade with Moscow when it is in their interest. Reuters is reporting for the first time that discussions on India's purchases of Stryker combat vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been paused due to the tariffs. Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in February announced plans to pursue procurement and joint production of those items. Singh had also been planning to announce the purchase of six Boeing P8I reconnaissance aircraft and support systems for the Indian Navy during his now-cancelled trip, two of the people said. Talks over procuring the aircraft in a proposed $US3.6 billion ($A5.5 billion) deal were at an advanced stage, according to the officials. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics referred queries to the Indian and US governments. Raytheon did not return a request for comment. India's deepening security relationship with the US, which is fuelled by their shared strategic rivalry with China, was heralded by many US analysts as one of the key areas of foreign-policy progress in the first Trump administration. Delhi is the world's second-largest arms importer and Russia has traditionally been its top supplier. India has in recent years, however, shifted to importing from Western powers like France, Israel and the US, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank. The shift in suppliers was driven partly by constraints on Russia's ability to export arms, which it is utilising heavily in its invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian weapons have also performed poorly on the battlefield, according to Western analysts. The broader US-India defence partnership, which includes intelligence sharing and joint military exercises, continues without hiccups, one of the Indian officials said. India also remains open to scaling back oil imports from Russia and is open to making deals elsewhere, including the US, if it can get similar prices, according to two other Indian sources. Trump's threats and rising anti-US nationalism in India have "made it politically difficult for Modi to make the shift from Russia to the US," one of the officials said.
