Putin dials Modi on his talks with Trump in Alaska
Russian President Vladimir Putin briefs Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Donald Trump talks
New Delhi,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska to discuss the Ukraine war even as Washington raised its pitch against India’s purchase of oil from Russia.
“Thank my friend, President Putin, for his phone call and for sharing insights on his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska. India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard. I look forward to our continued exchanges in the days to come,” Modi posted on social media platform X on Monday.
The same morning, Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro criticised India for its dependence on Russian crude and said it was “opportunistic and deeply corrosive of the world’s efforts to isolate Putin’s war economy”.
Strategic talks
Navarro’s observation on India, that was part of an opinion piece published in the Financial Times on Monday, comes just days ahead of the scheduled visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Moscow, leading a high-powered delegation to discuss trade and strategic issues.
“India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” Navarro wrote
Ironically, while the US announced an additional 25 per cent penal tariff on India for purchasing Russian oil, which was on top of the 25 per cent reciprocal tariff already imposed on its imports, Washington is showing significantly greater tolerance towards China, which is the largest purchaser of oil from Russia.
Additional sanctions
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US had spared China as additional sanctions on the country could lead to a spike in global energy prices.
“Well, if you look at the oil that’s going to China and being refined, a lot of that is then being sold back into Europe. Europe’s also buying natural gas still. Now, there are countries trying to wean themselves off it, but there’s more Europe can do with regard to their own sanctions,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox Business. Rubio, however, did not explain how the same logic would not apply to India.
But India is undeterred by the criticism and is continuing to deal with Russia as is evident from Modi’s telephonic conversation with Putin and Jaishankar’s planned visit to Moscow later this week.
Earlier this month, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had reacted to Trump’s announcement of penal tariffs on India and called the action unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
The MEA statement noted that it was extremely unfortunate that the US chose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest.
“We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India,” the statement pointed out.
Published on August 18, 2025
