Former White House trade advisor Peter Navarro accuses India of being an 'oil money laundromat' for Russia, alleging that India's oil purchases are funding Putin's war in Ukraine. The accusations come amid existing trade tensions and tariffs imposed by the US.
'As one former Indian diplomat put it to me, Delhi has access to the White House, but Islamabad has access to Mar-a-Lago.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin, as both nations look to strengthen ties amid global trade tensions.
'If China shows greater concerns for Indian interests, ties could improve. Otherwise, the thaw could be short-lived.'
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Japan is expected to increase its investment target in India from the earlier 5 trillion yen ($34 billion) to almost 10 trillion yen.
Rubio mentioned the recent conflict between India and Pakistan that President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed he solved.
Russia announces its withdrawal from a self-imposed moratorium on deploying intermediate-range missiles, citing escalating tensions with the US and the repositioning of American nuclear submarines.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said it is important for India and China to work together to bring stability to the world economic order as he asserted that New Delhi is ready to advance bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity.
Officials said the government-to-government engagement between the two countries on all other issues remains normal, but conceded rough spots over trade that need ironing out.
Russia has a "special mechanism" to confront any challenge arising out of the US slapping punitive measures against India for its procurement of Russian crude oil, Russian charge d'affaires Roman Babushkin said on Wednesday.
President Trump claims American tariffs imposed on India for purchasing Russian oil have negatively impacted Russia's economy, referring to India as Russia's major oil buyer. He also mentioned plans to meet with Putin and Zelenskyy, and claimed to have solved several wars, including the conflict between India and Pakistan.
The government has no say in where the country's refiners source oil from because these are commercial transactions.
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.
Trump also repeated his claim that seven fighter jets or more were shot down during the hostilities.
A US lawmaker and former officials warn that President Trump's policies are damaging the strategic partnership between the United States and India, potentially driving India closer to China and Russia.
'One Chinese interlocutor said India should realise that "China can do without India, but India could not do without China", pointing to its inability to do without Chinese intermediates and components,' former foreign secretary Shyam Saran discovers on a visit to China.
The relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a downturn after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil.
'What's currently underway is not a 'reset'.' 'What needs to be arrived at is a new balance.'
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.
Wang is travelling to India days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned trip to the Chinese city of Tianjin to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
'India is cosying up to Xi Jinping. They don't need the Russian oil. It's a refining profiteering scheme.'
'If Washington has to balance Chinese power, she will have to turn to the third biggest power in the world which is India.' 'The United States and India will have to work together in order to keep Chinese ambitions in check.'
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned US President Donald Trump about the dangers of a 'dead hand' after Trump criticized Russia and India's close ties and their 'dead economies'.
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.
'We should watch -- in the near term -- for signs that the two have totally fallen out at a personal, political level.' 'Trump and Modi know how to be dealmakers, but they also know how to hold a grudge.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Japan and China starting around August 29. The visit to China would be his first after the Ladakh border standoff.
'...it should not delude itself into thinking that India's security or its great-power ambitions will be advanced by those partnerships.'
'Instead, what India should focus on is on riding out the next three-and-a-half years of Trump's presidency with minimal damage to itself.'
China welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), expressing hope that the event will be a 'gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that India remains committed to making every possible contribution for an early and peaceful solution to the conflict. Zelenskyy sought India's support in limiting Russian energy exports.
One must wonder whether Mr Modi's efforts to wine and dine the Big Two of today's world were seen as a sign of weakness rather than a proffered arm of friendship, points out R Jagannathan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday assured Tehran of Moscow's support in de-escalating the Israel-Iran conflict hours after the United States strikes at Iranian nuclear sites at dawn on Sunday.
'We are a responsible nation, and would prefer to deal with sensitive issues with the maturity they deserve rather than take to social media.'
A meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit is being planned.
'Just as we cannot surrender the interests of our farmers and dairy industry, Trump is also looking for markets for the produce of the farmers in the Midwest, which are his support base.'
Glimpses from around the world that will make you smile and cry.
No experts, clearly, were involved in the design of these new tariffs, which have been the subject of bemused wonderment across the world in how completely they ignore logic, rationality, fairness, and economic theory, observes Mihir S Sharma.
India has cautioned against 'double standards' regarding its energy procurement from Russia, asserting that it is based on national interests and market dynamics, following a threat of secondary sanctions from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The formulations in the declaration in reference to terrorism is going to be to our "satisfaction", Dammu Ravi, secretary (economic relations) in the external affairs ministry said on Monday.
China has expressed its support for Russia's initiative to revive the Russia-India-China (RIC) troika, emphasizing its importance for regional and global security and stability.
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