Buffeted by Trump, India seeks to strengthen ties with Russia and China
On the very day that 50% penalties were announced on Indian products due to imports of Russian crude oil, August 6, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a pointed move toward Moscow, India's longtime partner and its leading arms supplier.
Facing the most serious diplomatic crisis since taking office in 2014, the Indian prime minister had little choice but to find a swift response to the American humiliation. He had largely built his legitimacy with Indians on his international stature, often emphasizing his ties with other world leaders, including Trump. The crisis with the US and the ongoing military confrontation with Pakistan have exposed the limitations of his "multi-alignment" or "strategic autonomy" doctrine, which rests on multiple, sometimes contradictory partnerships without true alliances. India found itself more isolated than ever on the world stage.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Global markets mixed ahead of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
World shares are mixed ahead of US President Donald Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders later on Monday afternoon. Markets showed scant reaction to Trump's inconclusive summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Investors are also watching for cues from an annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, of top central bankers later this week. Global markets on Monday morning In early European trading, Germany's DAX lost 0.2% to 24,303.26, while the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.5% to 7,881.74. Britain's FTSE 100 was little changed at 9,137.31. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% lower. On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%. The Dow industrials edged 0.1% higher, while the Nasdaq composite sank 0.4%. During Asia's day, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% to 43.714.31. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gave up early gains, losing 0.4% to close at 25,176.85. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 1% to 3,732.44. It's trading near it's highest level in a decade. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.2% to 8,959.30. The Kospi in South Korea declined 1.5% to 3,177.28 on heavy selling of semiconductor makers like Samsung Electronics, whose shares fell 2.2%. SK Hynix lost 3.3% as investors fretted over the possibility of more US tariffs on computer chips. In other dealings early Monday, US benchmark crude oil rose 7 cents to $62.87 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 3 cents to $65.88 per barrel. The US dollar rose to 147.37 Japanese yen from 147.18 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1682 from $1.1703. Trump meets Zelenskyy Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy will include other European leaders who were not included in the president's talks in Anchorage, Alaska, with Putin. The European allies are seeking to present a united front in safeguarding Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. An annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, of top central bankers later this week will be watched closely for hints about possible interest rate cuts from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. He is due to speak Friday at the economic policy conference. 'While the official theme is labour markets, investors will scrutinise any hint of September policy direction, especially after last week's mixed inflation data,' Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary, adding that 'any progress on Ukraine peace talks could push global equities higher still.' Expectations have been building that the Fed will cut interest rates at its next meeting in September, though mixed reports on the US economy have undercut those bets somewhat. One report Friday said shoppers boosted their spending at US retailers last month, while another said manufacturing in New York state unexpectedly grew. A third said industrial production across the country shrank last month, when economists were looking for modest growth. Yet another report suggested sentiment among US consumers is worsening due to worries about inflation, when economists expected to see a slight improvement.
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Russia can't seize all of Donetsk unless Ukraine withdraws. ISW says
Russian president Vladimir Putin reportedly told Donald Trump that one his demands for peace in Ukraine is full control of the Donbas. The region in eastern Ukraine, which had a pre-war population of around 6.5 million people, is made up of two regions: Donetsk and Luhansk. Moscow's demands regarding this area are not new, and even date back before the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Putin has been trying to occupy Donbas for 11 years, since Russia's first invasion of Ukraine, when after the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsular, Russian forces occupied territories in the east of the country. But even following the all-out war, Moscow has still failed to occupy all of Donbas militarily and hopes now to do it with the maximalist demands under Trump's mediation. The US-based Institute for the Study of War estimates that Russia will be unable to seize the remainder of Donetsk region rapidly through force, as Russian forces have failed to do for over a decade. "Russia could only rapidly seize all of Donetsk region if Ukraine concedes to Putin's demand and withdraws from it," the ISW said, after an analysis of Russian advances in the area, adding that Putin's claim that Russian forces will inevitably seize all of Donetsk region if the war continues is false. The ISW provides some examples of the settlements and areas where Moscow's forces have dedicated most of their efforts since February 2022. The Russian campaign for Chasiv Yar, began in May 2023 after Russian forces seized Bakhmut. It had then intensified a year later in April 2024 but in all, it has taken Russian forces 26 months to advance roughly 11 kilometres from western Bakhmut to the western edge of Chasiv Yar. The Pokrovsk assault campaign began in February 2024 after the seizure of Avdiivka. Moscow has dedicated multiple efforts to seizing Pokrovsk through frontal assaults, envelopment or encirclement, all of which have thus far been unsuccessful after more than 18 months. Putin previously said he also wants to control two more region of Ukraine: Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. This, according to UK defence ministry estimates, would take Moscow four and a half years, in addition to 2 million more Russian casualties - both killed and wounded - on top of the 1 million troops Russia has already lost since the war started in 2022.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Trump says 'big day' ahead as Zelenskyy arrives for Washington meeting
US President Donald Trump hailed what he said was a "big day" Monday as his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European allies all arrived in the US capital for a major meeting on ending Russia's war in Ukraine. The Washington talks follow a summit Trump held with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last Friday. After the meeting between the two heads of state, Trump revealed that negotiations over a possible ceasefire have been pushed aside with a view to finding a quick peace deal, as Moscow's all-out war continues well into its fourth year. However, this has led to concerns over possible concessions made to the Russian side, which is believed to have reiterated its maximalist demands, including asking for full control over four Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson -- and retaining the illegally annexed Crimea, mobilising Kyiv's European supporters gathered around the "Coalition of the Willing". The list of those expected to be in the room on Monday includes German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will also be in attendance. Follow our live blog below as Euronews' journalists from around Europe bring you the latest updates on the talks in the US capital:
