Both men spent most of their careers in their nations' intelligence services before they ascended to bigger roles -- Doval in the Intelligence Bureau; Putin in the KGB.
During a visit to the UK, former US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim of intervening to resolve a conflict between India and Pakistan, linking it to trade negotiations. He also discussed tariffs on India for buying Russian oil and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated India's support for an early end to the conflict in Ukraine after a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha. The discussion follows recent diplomatic engagements, including meetings between Prime Minister Modi and both President Putin and President Zelenskyy.
China's ruling Communist Party is holding its annual leadership conclave to discuss the new five-year plan, the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariff war, and the ongoing anti-corruption crackdown in the military.
New Delhi might have loudly welcomed an age of multipolarity, hedging and strategic autonomy. But it seems the winner in that game is Islamabad, not us, points out Mihir S Sharma.
The defence ministry is likely to take up the proposal by the Indian Air Force for approval at a defence acquisition council meeting planned to be held on October 23, sources said.
There were apprehensions that additional secondary tariffs would have hit India in case the US decided to enforce them.
Pakistan and China are among the countries which are testing nuclear weapons, United States President Donald Trump has said to justify his administration's plans to resume testing of the US's own nuclear assets after a gap of over three decades.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined European allies in a video call to discuss the Ukraine conflict ahead of President Zelensky's visit to the White House for talks with President Trump.
Ukraine has been informed about the Trump-Putin call.
'We had a very productive meeting, and there were many points that we agreed on. A couple of big ones that we haven't quite gotten there, but we made some headway.'
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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev for the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 in which 38 passengers were killed near Aktau in Kazakhstan, Euro News reported.
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.
India has voiced regret over the Ukraine conflict's 'collateral consequences', including prices of fuel, saying countries of the Global South have been left to fend for themselves, as Delhi underscored that diplomatic efforts hold the promise to end the war and bring lasting peace.
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the secondary tariffs on India could go up if 'things don't go well' during talks between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
'Trump does have a master plan in mind to put pressure on India with the additional tariff of 25 per cent to get Modi to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to freeze the Ukraine war.' 'It has not worked so far. By end-September only we'll know for sure the future trajectory of India's oil purchases from Russia,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
US President Donald Trump claims India has significantly reduced and nearly stopped purchasing oil from Russia, citing de-escalation efforts. This follows previous tensions over tariffs and India's energy sourcing.
'The longer India hangs out to dry, the worse the New Delhi-Washington relationship gets.'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday reaffirmed his commitment to the country's territorial integrity, insisting that Kyiv continues to claim all territories now under Russian control, RT reported.
Russia's unprecedented rapprochement with North Korea has raised concerns about the re-emergence of a Russia-China-North Korea alliance which could increase the probability of conflict on the Korean Peninsula, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
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 ministry of external affairs spokesperson said that the meeting holds the promise of bringing to an end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and opening up the prospects for peace.
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.
When asked about Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with Chinese President Xi Jinping at China's military parade and whether he is considering slapping secondary sanctions on Moscow, Trump said, "Well, I've already done that with regard to India, and we're doing it with regard to other things."
His assertion came after Trump claimed that his "friend" PM Modi has assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia, a move he described as a big step toward increasing pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims President Donald Trump was instrumental in bringing about the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, a claim India has consistently denied.
Bolton slammed Trump's tariff policy, asserting that it has "shredded" decades of Western efforts to align India away from its Cold War ties with the then Soviet Union (Russia) and address the growing threat from China.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in Tianjin on Sunday, their first in about 10 months, for wide-ranging talks aimed at improving relations.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that the country's airspace had been violated by "a huge number of Russian drones" which were shot down by its military.
Lavrov, who addressed the UN General Assembly shortly before External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's speech at the high-level General Debate, said India and Russia share a "particularly privileged strategic partnership".
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) strongly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack and concurred with India's position that 'double standards' in the fight against terrorism are unacceptable.
Putin said that the Indian leader had "aptly" noted that it is "not an anti-western one but a non-western one".
The US Department of the Treasury on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to pressure the Kremlin to end its war in Ukraine.
The US move to align with Russia is prompted by fear of a Sino-Russian joint threat. Russia, fully aware of its military vulnerability vis a vis China may cautiously welcome the American move, assesses Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen's comments came amid a major downturn between New Delhi and Washington after US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 percent, including a 25 percent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hugging of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a gesture that had drawn much criticism from the West.
On May 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China for a two-day State visit as both countries looked to further deepen the relationship between Moscow and Beijing.
Trump also said he is "very disappointed" that India would be buying "so much oil" from Russia.
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