India welcomes Trump-Putin meeting on Aug 15: ‘Ready to support’

“India welcomes the understanding reached between the United States and the Russian Federation for a meeting in Alaska on August 15, 2025,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. “This meeting holds the promise of bringing to an end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and opening up the prospects for peace. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said on several occasions, ‘this is not an era of war’,” he said. “India, therefore, endorses the upcoming Summit meeting and stands ready to support these efforts,” he said.

Statement by Official Spokesperson⬇️
🔗 https://t.co/22vVtFYFOh pic.twitter.com/zWvhRSRlhp

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) August 9, 2025

The sense in Delhi is that if the meeting leads to a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it will ease the pressure over trade in Russian oil, and the possibility of the US not imposing the 25 per cent penalty will be high.

This has been the bone of contention for Trump, who has accused India of fuelling the “Russian war machine”, and India doesn’t want to be caught in the crossfire between the US and Russia.

Earlier this week, India was blindsided by the targeting over buying oil from Russia. India has pushed back against the US for its double standards, as Washington has not targeted China and Europe for their purchases of Russian energy.

Shortly after Trump, on August 6, announced a 25% additional tariff on India for importing Russian oil — taking the total tariff rate to 50 per cent – Delhi termed the action as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”, and said it would take “all actions necessary” to “protect its national interests”.

A day later, Modi said the country would “never compromise on the interests of its farmers, livestock rearers and fisherfolk”. He said he knew he “personally will have to pay a very heavy price”, but he was “ready for it”.

In this context, the Trump-Putin meeting holds the key to the peace process – and unlocking of India-US tensions.