UPDATE - Putin discusses Alaska meeting outcome with India’s Modi

UPDATES WITH READOUT FROM KREMLIN

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the outcome of his summit with US President Donald Trump last week in Alaska.

The two leaders discussed prospects for a long-term settlement of the Ukraine conflict and agreed to continue dialogue on the matter, as well as on other pressing international issues, according to a Kremlin readout.

Putin also expressed condolences over the tragic consequences of the recent floods in India, the statement added.

Modi, for his part, wrote on the US social media platform X: “Thank my friend, President Putin, for his phone call and for sharing insights on his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska.”

He said New Delhi has consistently called for a “peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard.”

“I look forward to our continued exchanges in the days to come,” the Indian leader added.

Putin and Trump held a summit on Friday in Anchorage, the largest city of the US state of Alaska, which marked the first meeting between sitting American and Russian leaders since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022.

Following the summit, Trump told Fox News that significant points were agreed upon, with only minor items remaining.

This was the second such conversation between Putin and Modi this month.

India’s purchase of Russian crude oil has strained its strategic ties with the US, which has punished New Delhi with 50% tariffs.

Peter Navarro, a counsellor for trade and manufacturing at the White House, on Monday called India’s “dependence” on Russian crude “opportunistic and deeply corrosive of the world’s efforts to isolate Putin’s war economy.”

“In effect, India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” Navarro wrote in the Financial Times.

New Delhi has pushed back on US tariffs, calling the Trump administration’s moves “unfair and unjust.”

According to Navarro, India’s purchases of Russia’s crude oil had climbed to over 30% of its total imports, from a mere 1%, since the Ukraine war began in February 2022.

He also accused India of “now cozying up to both Russia and China.”

“India’s oil lobby is funding Putin’s war machine — that has to stop,” he added.