India Welcomes US-Russia Meeting on Ukraine Peace Amid Trade Row
New Delhi: As India braces for additional US tariffs over its purchase of Russian oil, New Delhi on Saturday (August 9) welcomed the decision by the United States and Russia to hold a meeting in Alaska on August 15, 2025, describing it as a potential step towards ending the war in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15. The Kremlin confirmed the summit, calling it “quite logical” and noting that Trump has been invited to visit Russia after the talks.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement, which “welcomes” the summit, described it as holding “the promise of resolving the Ukraine conflict and unlocking opportunities for peace.”
Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oft-stated position, the ministry cited his remark, “This is not an era of war.” It added, “India, therefore, endorses the upcoming Summit meeting and stands ready to support these efforts.”
India’s swift endorsement comes days after Washington, on August 6, imposed a 25% penalty tariff on top of an existing ‘reciprocal’ levy, taking the total duty on Indian goods to 50%. A White House fact sheet on the executive order announcing the additional tariff said it was imposed by President Trump “in response to its continued purchase of Russian Federation oil.”
India had termed them “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable” and pointed out that India’s imports were based on “market factors”.
On Friday, Modi and Putin reaffirmed the bilateral relationship in a phone conversation, with the Indian prime minister reiterating his position in favour of a diplomatic solution.
Addressing reporters the same day, Trump said a ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia would involve territory swaps between the two countries. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that the country is ready for “real solutions” that can deliver lasting peace, but warned that any decisions made without Ukraine are also decisions against peace. In a social media post, Zelenskyy said that such agreements would be “stillborn decisions” that will never work, underscoring the need for a “real, living peace” that people will respect. He has also stressed that Ukraine will never cede land to Russia, noting that the answer to the territorial question is already enshrined in the country’s constitution.
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