This comes despite Russia on Monday stating that Lavrov and Rubio held a "constructive" conversation as part of preparations for the meeting between their two presidents in Budapest, Hungary, Russian media has reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a phone call this past week with United States President Donald Trump, demanded that Kyiv surrender full control of Donetsk, a strategically vital region in eastern Ukraine, as a condition for ending the war, said two senior officials familiar with the conversation, the Washington Post reported.
In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Saturday, Putin said that such a move by Trump would "lead to the destruction of our relations. At least the positive tendencies that have appeared in these relations."
Trump's one-on-one meetings with Putin during his first term were clouded with mystery. With only a translator inside the room, it was often unclear what exactly was discussed. Aides had a difficult time ascertaining if the two reached any agreements. After one such meeting, in Germany, Trump asked his interpreter to discard his notes.
'There are times when India should stand up without hesitation and voice its indignation over the US' pressure tactic. This is one such moment,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
As Russia continues to escalate its strikes on Ukraine, United States President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) said that he has plans to speak with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the coming days, as several European leaders are expected to visit the United States for what he described as 'very interesting discussions' aimed at resolving the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Speaking shortly after, Trump stated he had yet to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but would do so imminently, along with other European leaders. He suggested a formal deal was not yet in place.
Stressing that wars are "very bad", Trump said that he seems to have "an ability to end them, to get people together" for which he uses the "power of the United States".
The unusual security measure was said to be aimed at preventing foreign powers from obtaining information about the Russian leader's health.
'No respite from economic pain is worth the loss of dignity and self-respect,' asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Despite the lack of a formal agreement, Trump described the summit as a success
Former White House official John Bolton suggests that tariffs imposed on India by the US for purchasing Russian oil may have unintended consequences, potentially driving New Delhi closer to Beijing and Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed optimism about Russia-US relations, citing potential cooperation in the Arctic and Alaska. He acknowledged the current low level of relations but sees improvement with President Trump's administration. Putin also emphasized the importance of Russia's sovereignty and the role of its nuclear industry.
There were apprehensions that additional secondary tariffs would have hit India in case the US decided to enforce them.
The comments come ahead of Trump's high-profile meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, scheduled for Friday in Anchorage, Alaska.
India welcomes the summit talks between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska and hopes for an early end to the conflict in Ukraine.
Supporting Trump's proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the US, and Russia, Zelenskyy said, "Key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this."
The point to note for India is that we must not panic. The United States may be our largest export destination, but high tariffs will not exactly mean gloom and doom. Sure, we can throw some morsels as we continue negotiating, but we must be firm that some red lines cannot be crossed, no matter what, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Trump has played throughout his career as a deal-maker who could deliver where others could not, and Ukraine represents the ultimate test of that image, notes Manish Dabhade.
In a post on X on Saturday, Zelenskyy revealed that he and Trump had held a "long and substantive" call, beginning with one-on-one talks and later including European leaders in a broader discussion, where Trump briefed him on his recent meeting with Putin.
Notably, US President Donald Trump and his administration have continuously targeted India over its purchase of Russian crude oil. India, on the other hand, has always maintained that India's purchases are based on its domestic needs and economic security.
The summit, scheduled for Friday, marks the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the US and Russia in over four years.
Trump also repeated his claim that seven fighter jets or more were shot down during the hostilities.
Trump reiterated that he is not negotiating on behalf of Ukraine, but rather aiming to bring the parties to the negotiating table.
If India caves in to US pressure as Trump hopes it will, he will further try to blackmail it into submission, points out Ramesh Menon.
Military officials released new video on Monday of a close encounter between a Russian fighter jet and a US Air Force F-16 interceptor near Alaska, Associated Press has reported.
In the combined raid of the navy, armour and engineering forces, along with air force support, about ten tunnel shafts were destroyed, and four buildings of associated terrorist infrastructure were destroyed, the IDF said.
Saturday's drone attack on MV Chem Pluto came amid increasing concerns over various commercial vessels being targeted reportedly by Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The fire broke out in an area near the Visakhapatnam Container Terminal and an Indian Oil Corporation facility where fishing boats were anchored.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Indian bulk cargo vessel MV Jag Anand has been on anchorage near Jingtang port in Hebei province of China since June 13 and it has 23 Indian sailors.
Time travel, monsters, dinosaurs, Korean cops, what will you watch on OTT this week? Sukanya Verma offers her picks.
'I have no idea as to what Lucky Ali is singing but to me, it sounds great and gels with what I sing.'
Two Indian seafarers stranded without passports on a cargo ship in Iran's port city of Bushehr since 2019, have been released after the Indian embassy in Teheran issued travel documents, the Maritime Union of India (MUI) said on Friday. The claim made by the MUI could not be independently verified.
The deep depression in Bay of Bengal that crossed the coast close to Kakinada in East Godavari district on Tuesday morning left a trail of devastation as it brought with it a massive downpour in several districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Posting photos on Twitter, Piyush Goyal wrote, "Envisaging an enriched passenger experience with complete integration of different modes of transport, take a look at the future of New Delhi Railway Station."
Afcons Infrastructure, whose chartered barge P305 with 261 personnel at the Bombay High offshore oilfield was wrecked by cyclonic storm Tauktae earlier this week, on Thursday said the weather deteriorated rapidly and reached levels far worse than forecasts.
The Jewar Airport or the Noida International Greenfield Airport will be spread over 5,000 hectares when fully built at an estimated to cost Rs 29,560 crore.
The government will soon issue guidelines for regulation of OTT (over the top) platforms that will address issues such as sensitive content, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
The past appears to have interrupted the future of the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS). With two protected heritage buildings sitting in the way of the plan to redevelop the railway station, officials in the know say the project may end up back on the drawing board since the National Monuments Authority (NMA), the body tasked with the protection and preservation of monuments and sites, is yet to give its approval. "A nod from NMA is awaited before going into the next phase of bids for the redevelopment of the New Delhi Railway Station," a senior official of the Ministry of Railways told Business Standard. While the Railways ministry is hopeful of getting approvals from the NMA before the end of the current financial year, there is no clarity on this yet.
The thanks-giving activities will start with laying of wreaths at the police memorial in Delhi and in several other cities on Sunday morning to honour the police personnel deployed in enforcement of the nationwide lockdown, officials said. It will be followed by fly-pasts by fighter and transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, covering a sizeable number of cities and towns across the country between 10 am and 11 am, officials said.
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