Hamas' Allies Unleash Deadly Mortar Fire On Israeli Troops Ahead Of IDF's Gaza Conquest
International security expert and Northeastern University professor Max Abrahms has voiced concern over Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir issuing a nuclear threat from U.S. soil. Abrahms says the Trump administration's stance signals a shift towards Pakistan while sidelining India. Referring to Operation Sindoor, he notes the U.S. treated both countries as equally responsible, despite Pakistan-backed attacks sparking the conflict. He warns that India feels disrespected and underappreciated on the global stage. Abrahms calls on the U.S. to remain loyal to key allies like India and Japan, especially amid rising tensions with China, and avoid warming up to adversaries.#internationalsecurity #usforeignpolicy #india #pakistan #chinachallenge #usindiarealtions #geopolitics #trumpadministration #strategicpartnerships #defencecooperation #southasia #toi #toibharat
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First Post
22 minutes ago
- First Post
Trump has risked US-India ties for a cheap win
Great partnerships are built slowly and destroyed quickly. In torching trust for the sake of a few headlines and a Nobel nomination, Trump risks more than a temporary chill Trump actions suggest a transactional mindset in which strategic relationships are subordinated to momentary political wins and rhetorical jabs. Representational image 'In geopolitics, there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests.' – Lord Palmerston From Warmth to Whiplash Few bilateral relationships have been cultivated with more care over the last two decades than that between the United States and India. The strategic logic was clear: as Asia's other democratic giant, India could help anchor an Indo-Pacific balance of power to check China's rise. But President Donald Trump, in a matter of months, has managed to turn goodwill into suspicion. What began with a 'MAGA plus MIGA equals mega partnership' in February has degenerated into public insults, punitive tariffs, and a humiliating tilt towards Pakistan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The consequences go well beyond bruised egos. They threaten to undo years of steady alignment between the two largest democracies, alignment that took decades to build and that the US can ill afford to squander. The Tariff Hammer Trump's decision to slap a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, then double it to 50 per cent, was framed as punishment for New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. Yet the hypocrisy is glaring: China, America's main strategic rival, buys far more Russian oil without incurring such penalties. The president's taunt 'They can take their dead economies down together' was not only factually wrong (India's economy is booming) but needlessly insulting. For India, it confirmed that Washington's so-called 'strategic partnership' can be tossed aside the moment it becomes inconvenient. Lisa Curtis, a veteran South Asia hand who served on Trump's National Security Council, calls this approach 'mystifying' and 'short-sighted'. The words are diplomatic; the implications are blunt. This is self-sabotage. Kashmir: The Breaking Point If the tariffs soured the mood, the Kashmir episode poisoned it. In May, after a terrorist attack sparked tensions between India and Pakistan, the US quietly urged restraint, standard practice in such crises. But Trump couldn't resist claiming full credit, even boasting that he had threatened India to force a climbdown. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This crossed a red line. India has never accepted third-party mediation on Kashmir. Modi's government took the extraordinary step of publishing its call minutes with Trump, stressing 'at no point' had there been mediation. Indian commentators called it 'typical Trump overreach'. The damage was compounded when Pakistan publicly praised Trump's 'peacemaking' and even nominated him for the Nobel Prize he so covets. For New Delhi, the symbolism was clear: Washington had chosen public flattery from Islamabad over strategic discretion with India. Playing Favourites Soon after, Pakistan secured a tariff reduction from 29 per cent to 19 per cent. India's rate stayed at 50 per cent. That sent a starker message than any speech: a supposed partner was punished harder than an adversary. For many in India's foreign policy establishment, this rekindled the suspicion that the US still sees South Asia primarily through a Pakistan-centric lens, a Cold War hangover they thought was long gone. More Than Trade STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The damage isn't confined to tariffs and Kashmir. Indian students face increased harassment on American campuses under a tightening immigration regime. Deportations of undocumented Indians have spiked. Meanwhile, Trump's attendance at the upcoming Quad summit in India is now in doubt. Curtis is unequivocal: 'Prime Minister Modi is just not going to trust President Trump anymore.' Without personal trust, strategic logic will not hold the partnership together. China and Russia Waiting in the Wings It is naïve to think India will simply pivot to Beijing. The two countries remain strategic rivals, with unresolved border disputes and conflicting ambitions in the Indian Ocean. But Modi is preparing to visit China for the first time in seven years, a signal that New Delhi is willing to thaw ties when it suits its interests. Russia, meanwhile, remains a trusted partner in defence and energy. President Putin's planned visit to India underscores Moscow's enduring relevance. If Washington keeps pushing India away, it risks accelerating a Eurasian convergence that US strategists have spent decades trying to prevent. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Strategy Demands Consistency The US-India partnership was never about sentiment. It was built on shared interests, counterbalancing China, securing supply chains, and stabilising the Indo-Pacific. Such a partnership demands steadiness and respect for India's strategic autonomy. Trump's approach has been neither steady nor respectful. His actions suggest a transactional mindset in which strategic relationships are subordinated to momentary political wins and rhetorical jabs. That is not how great-power partnerships survive. A Self-Inflicted Wound Palmerston's maxim about permanent interests is more than a cynical quip; it is a warning. The US and India will always have differences, over trade, over Russia, over immigration. But these must be managed quietly, without public humiliation, if the broader strategic compact is to hold. In torching trust for the sake of a few headlines and a Nobel nomination from Islamabad, Trump risks more than a temporary chill. He risks driving India to hedge harder with Beijing and Moscow, fracturing the delicate geometry of Asian geopolitics. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Great partnerships are built slowly and destroyed quickly. Washington still has a narrow window to repair the damage. But if it fails, it will discover, too late, that India, once alienated, will not be easily won back. Ashutosh Kumar Thakur is a Bengaluru-based management professional, literary critic, and Curator. He can be reached at ashutoshbthakur@ The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
New Indian Express
22 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Takeaways from crucial Trump-Putin meeting: No agreement, no questions but lots of pomp
WASHINGTON: The much-anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin began with a warm welcome and a flyover by screaming jets at a U.S. military base in Alaska but ended with a thud Friday after they conceded that they had failed to reach any agreements on how to end the Russia-Ukraine war. After about 2 1/2 hours of talks at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, the two men appeared before reporters for what had been billed as a joint news conference — but they took no questions. "We had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed to, there are just a very few that are left," Trump said. "We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there." Putin, welcomed into the U.S. after being shunned by Western allies since early 2022 for ordering the invasion of Ukraine, thanked Trump for hosting the meeting and suggested with a chuckle that the next time the two sit down it could be in Moscow. Here are key takeaways from the summit: A warm welcome underscoring the friendly Trump-Putin relationship Putin got a red carpet welcome and even rode in Trump's presidential limousine from the tarmac to the summit venue. There, the pair were joined by two of their top aides: Secretary of State and national security adviser Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff for Trump and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and national security adviser Yuri Ushakov for Putin. Putin, who spoke first after the meeting concluded, lauded the historical relationship between the United States, Russia and the former Soviet Union, recalling joint missions conducted by the two countries during World War II.
Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Trump delivers Melania's letter to Putin during Alaska meeting; Here's what it said
US President Donald Trump handed over a letter from First Lady Melania Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a crucial meeting in Alaska on Friday, according to Reuters. Trump presented Putin with a letter from Melania that expressed worry for the plight of thousands of Ukrainian children who were allegedly taken from their homes by Russian authorities without their agreement, according to Reuters.(REUTERS) In the letter, Melania highlighted the tragedy of thousands of Ukrainian kids who have allegedly been kidnapped by Russian forces since Putin directed an all-out invasion in February 2022, the news agency reported, citing two White House sources. According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian officials have abducted tens of thousands of Ukrainian kids and transported them to Russia or to regions of Ukraine that are under Russian control. The International Criminal Court granted a warrant for Putin's arrest in March 2023 in connection with the suspected kidnapping of Ukrainian children. Children were taken out of battle zones for their own safety, according to Russian officials, who also called the arrest warrant 'outrageous and unacceptable.' Also Read: US warns foreign workers of serious legal repercussions, citing recent H-2A visa violation; 'Aliens who fail to…' What else we know about Melania's letter to Putin Trump and Putin held a joint press conference in Alaska on Friday to talk about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Despite the fact that Putin did not commit to a ceasefire, Trump said that the negotiations had been 'very productive' and that there were 'many points we agreed on.' Trump presented Putin with a letter from Melania that expressed worry for the plight of thousands of Ukrainian children who were allegedly taken from their homes by Russian authorities without their agreement, according to Reuters. The precise content of the letter has not been disclosed yet. Kyiv claimed that the kidnapping of over 20,000 Ukrainian children since February 2022 qualified as genocide under the UN's criteria. The US declared in June 2024 that it was aware of "credible reports" that Ukrainian infants were offered for adoption on Russian websites, calling the method 'despicable and appalling.' As per British daily The Sun, several Ukrainian children who were kidnapped were made to sing the Russian national anthem and were not allowed to talk in their native language. However, Moscow claimed that the evacuation of children from war regions was a humanitarian action. Speaking to the media, Trump said that his wife mentioned that Russia still bombs Ukrainian cities even after POTUS' phone conversations with Putin. In July, Trump reportedly told USA Today: 'I go home, I tell the first lady, 'You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.' And she said, 'Oh really? Another city was just hit.' Trump's wife has been the target of criticism from Russian official media in recent weeks; one well-known pro-regime TV host called her a 'Ukrainian agent.'
