Exhibit A of US lies, hypocrisy over India and Russian oil
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Business Standard
16 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Donald Trump heads to 'high stakes' Alaska summit with Putin on Ukraine
Donald Trump headed to Alaska on Friday for what he called a "high stakes" summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin to discuss a ceasefire deal for Ukraine to help end the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was not invited to the talks, and his European allies fear Trump might sell out Ukraine by essentially freezing the conflict and recognising - if only informally - Russian control over one fifth of Ukraine. Trump sought to assuage such concerns as he boarded Air Force One, saying he would let Ukraine decide on any possible territorial swaps. "I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine, I'm here to get them at a table," he said. Both the U.S. and Russian presidents, due to meet at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska's largest city, are seeking wins from their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House. Trump, who casts the war as a "bloodbath" fraught with escalatory risk, is pressing for a truce in the 3-1/2-year-old war that would bolster his credentials as a global peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. For Putin, the summit is already a big win as he can use it to say that years of Western attempts to isolate Russia have unravelled and that Moscow has retaken its rightful place at the top table of international diplomacy. The summit, the first between a U.S. and Russian leader since 2021, was set to start at 11 a.m. Alaska time (1900 GMT). Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, conceded on Thursday it had proven a tougher nut to crack than he thought. He said that if Friday's talks went well, quickly arranging a second three-way summit with Zelenskiy would be even more important than his encounter with Putin. "It's time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America," Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Friday, adding that the Trump-Putin meeting should open the way for a "just peace" and three-way talks with him included. 'SMART GUY' Of Putin, Trump said on Friday: "He is a smart guy, been doing it for a long time but so have I... We get along, there's a good respect level on both sides." He also welcomed Putin's decision to bring a lot of businesspeople with him to Alaska. "But they're not doing business until we get the war settled," he said, repeating a threat of "economically severe" consequences for Russia if the summit goes badly. One source acquainted with Kremlin thinking said there were signs that Moscow could be ready to strike a compromise on Ukraine given that Putin understood Russia's economic vulnerability and costs of continuing the war. Reuters has previously reported that Putin might be willing to freeze the conflict along the front lines, provided there was a legally binding pledge not to enlarge NATO eastwards and to lift some Western sanctions. Russia, whose war economy is showing signs of strain, is vulnerable to further U.S. sanctions - and Trump has threatened tariffs on buyers of Russian crude, primarily China and India. "For Putin, economic problems are secondary to goals, but he understands our vulnerability and costs," the Russian source said. On the eve of the summit, Putin held out the prospect of something else he knows Trump wants - a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last surviving one, which is due to expire in February next year. COMMON GROUND? The source familiar with Kremlin thinking said it looked as if the two sides had been able to find some common ground. "Apparently, some terms will be agreed upon... because Trump cannot be refused, and we are not in a position to refuse (due to sanctions pressure)," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. Putin has so far voiced stringent conditions for a full ceasefire, but one compromise could be a truce in the air war. Putin has said he is open to a ceasefire but has repeatedly said the issues of verification need to be sorted out first. Zelenskiy has accused Putin of playing for time to avoid U.S. secondary sanctions and has ruled out formally handing Moscow any territory. Beyond territory, Ukraine has been clear in talks with Western allies that it needs a security guarantee backed by Washington. It is unclear how that guarantee could work - and what part the U.S. would play in it. Ukrainians who spoke to Reuters in central Kyiv on Friday were not optimistic about the Alaska summit. "Nothing good will happen there, because war is war, it will not end. The territories - we're not going to give anything to anyone," said Tetiana Harkavenko, a 65-year-old cleaner.
Indian Express
16 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Trump boards flight to Alaska, says Putin ‘won't mess around' as Russian leader time-travels into second Friday
US President Donald Trump on Friday boarded the Air Force One for a seven-hour flight to Alaska to meet the Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time in four years. Hours before boarding, the US President said he believes Putin wants to make peace in Ukraine and will not 'mess around' when they meet today. President @realDonaldTrump arrives at Air Force One 🇺🇸 — Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) August 15, 2025 'And if it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly. And if it's a good meeting, we're going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future,' he warned. Trump, who has long argued the war 'should have never happened,' said that if he were not president, Putin 'would take over all of Ukraine.' He added: 'But I am President, and he's not going to mess around with me.' Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, said Putin is 'a smart guy' and they 'get along,' with 'a good respect level on both sides,' adding, 'I thought something is going to come up.' 'I noticed he's bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that's good. I like that because they want to do business, but they're not doing business until we get the war stopped.' On Russian attacks on Ukraine, Trump said he thinks Putin 'is trying to set a stage' that 'in his mind… helps him make a better deal,' but added, 'it actually hurts him, and I will be talking to him about it.' Asked if talks would cover territorial issues, Trump said: 'They'll be discussed, but I've got to let Ukraine make that decision, and I think they'll make a proper decision, but I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine. I'm here to get them at a table. And I think you have two sides. Look, Vladimir Putin wanted to take all of Ukraine. If I wasn't president, he would, right now, be taking all of Ukraine, but he's not going to do it.' On possible US security guarantees for Ukraine, he said: 'Maybe, along with Europe and other countries. Not in the form of Nato, because… there are certain things that aren't going to happen. But yeah, along with Europe, there's possibility …' Confirming his earlier warning to Moscow, Trump said: 'Economically severe. It will be very severe. I'm not doing this for my health, okay, I don't need it. I'd like to focus on our country, but I'm doing this to save a lot of lives. Yeah, very severe.' 'High stakes!' Trump posted on Truth Social before boarding his flight to Anchorage, where he will host Putin in what is being billed as a historic summit, the Russian leader's first visit to the West since the war began in February 2022. Putin made a stop in Russia's far eastern city of Magadan on his way to Alaska for Friday's summit with Trump. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin's visit to Magadan is a 'full-fledged regional trip,' including a tour of an industrial plant and talks with the regional governor. 'The city is important. Putin has been there many times, even when he was prime minister,' Peskov told state news agency TASS. The journey from Moscow to Magadan takes roughly eight hours, followed by another four-hour flight to Anchorage, Alaska, where the high-stakes meeting will be held. Because of the time zones he will cross, Putin will, in effect, experience two Fridays — one in Magadan and the other in Alaska. The US delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Joining Putin on the Russian side are Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Russian Direct Investment Fund chief Kirill Dmitriev, and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Zelenskyy posted on social media that he expects a report from Ukrainian intelligence today 'on the current intentions of the Russian side and its preparations for the meeting in Alaska.' I held a Staff meeting to discuss three key issues. The front, particularly the Pokrovsk sector. We are countering the attempts of Russian forces to gain a foothold and increasing the pressure of our units on the occupier. We are succeeding. Units of the 79th and 82nd Air… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 15, 2025 Responding to Trump's earlier remarks, he said: 'Indeed, high stakes. The key thing is that this meeting should open up a real path toward a just peace and a substantive discussion between leaders in a trilateral format – Ukraine, the United States, and the Russian side. It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America. We are ready, as always, to work as productively as possible.' (With inputs from The Guardian, CNN, Reuters and Associated Press)
Hindustan Times
16 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘We never make any predictions': Russian foreign minister on Trump-Putin talks in Alaska
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said that his country's position on Ukraine war is 'clear and unambiguous' and will be put forward at Friday's Summit talks between Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. Sergei Lavrov was responding to a question by the Russian state TV after reaching Alaska for talks to potentially end the three-year war in Ukraine.(X) Lavrov was responding to a question by the Russian state TV after reaching Alaska for talks to potentially end the three-year war in Ukraine. He said that Moscow would not make guesses on the outcome of the meeting. "We never make any predictions ahead of time," Lavrov said, wearing what appeared to be a shirt with "USSR" written across it in Cyrillic script. According to Lavrov, the Russian position on the issue is clear, but he did not elaborate on what exactly it was. "... our position is clear and unambiguous. We will present it," he said. Trump and Putin are meeting in Alaska on Friday to hold the first-ever summit talks between the US and Russian Presidents since Moscow's war in Ukraine started. While the Republican leader has indicated a 'land swap' deal between Kyiv and Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who hasn't been invited to the talks, has ruled any such deal out. Zelensky, however, on Friday said that his country was 'counting on the US President' to convince Russia to end the war it began in 2022. Trump says Putin would have taken all of Ukraine if he wasn't President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that he would know within the first five minutes of the meeting with Vladimir Putin if it would be fruitful. 'We're gonna find out where everybody stands. And I'll know within the first two minutes, three minutes, four minutes or five minutes… whether or not we're going to have a good meeting or a bad. And if it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly. And if it's a good meeting, we're going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future,' CNN quoted Trump as saying. Trump has long claimed that Putin would not have launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 if he had been President, and said Thursday that the war 'should have never happened.' 'If I weren't President, in my opinion, he would much rather take over all of Ukraine. But I am President, and he's not going to mess around with me,' Trump said.
