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Trump says tariffs on India ‘probably' pushed Putin to negotiating table
US President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that tariffs imposed on India may have played a role in Russian President Vladimir Putin agreeing to meet him in Alaska this week to discuss the war in Ukraine.'Everything has an impact,' Trump said in an interview on Fox News Radio's The Brian Kilmeade Show. He noted that the additional tariffs he imposed against India 'essentially took them out of buying oil from Russia,' adding that India was Moscow's second-largest when you lose your second largest customer and you're probably going to lose your first largest customer, I think that probably has a role,' he said.
Trump is scheduled to meet Putin in Alaska on will be keeping a close watch on the Alaska meeting as they work on a strategy to counter recent US tariffs. Last week, the White House imposed an additional 25% levy on imports from India — bringing the total to 50% — in retaliation for New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil. The PM Narendra Modi-led government hopes an early resolution to the conflict could help ease tensions on the US Treasury Secretary has warned that the Trump administration could impose additional secondary tariffs on India, with the final decision depending on the outcome of the Alaska talks. 'We've put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,' Scott Bessent told Bloomberg Trump administration, while imposing additional tariffs, has accused New Delhi of indirectly funding Moscow's war in has called the measures 'unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable,' and defended its oil imports as a matter of national energy security. Talks between the two countries stalled earlier this month after Trump suspended discussions over the Russian trade issue and other negotiations may resume when US negotiators arrive in New Delhi on August 25, just two days before the higher tariff rate is set to take effect. However, experts say India's firm stance on protecting its agriculture and dairy markets remains a sticking MEET AND UKRAINE PEACE EFFORTTrump has expressed optimism that the talks could pave the way for a peace agreement in Ukraine, saying, 'I believe now, he's (Putin) convinced that he's going to make a deal. He's going to make a deal. I think he's going to, and we're going to find out.'While he remained uncertain whether an immediate ceasefire could be reached, Trump said the meeting was the first step in a process that could lead to a second, more decisive round of talks involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.'Depending on what happens with my meeting, I'm going to be calling up President Zelenskyy, and let's get him over to wherever we're going to meet,' he said, adding that a second meeting could address 'boundaries, lands, etc, etc.'advertisementTrump said he would not negotiate the terms himself. 'I'm not going to negotiate their deal. I'm going to let them negotiate their deal,' he claimed that Putin 'respects our country now' but 'did not respect our country under Biden,' adding that the Alaska meeting 'sets up like a chess game' and could determine the path to peace.- EndsTune InMust Watch
