Trump-Putin Alaska Meet Inconclusive Yet India Gets Relief

US President Donald Trump dropped a 10/10 for the meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska and said the exchanges were productive, even when Russian President did not mention the word ‘ceasefire’. It was surprising to hear such words from Trump even when the meeting failed to achieve its primary goal, an end to Russia’s war with Ukraine.

The meeting between Trump and Putin remained inconclusive with the Russian leader claiming his country is committed to ending the war, only if some conditions are agreed upon as that alone could make peace long-lasting. Trump appeared subdued and claimed that many points were agreed to in the “extremely productive meeting”.

Trump’s statement provided relief to Russia and its trade partners, including India, as it was feared more sanctions would be added to the already existing ones. Trump said that he might have to reconsider it (sanctions) in 2-3 weeks. Though he did not elaborate on his future actions, Trump said that it would be devastating for them (Russia and its trade partners) if he did secondary sanctions now.

After imposing a reciprocal tariff of 25% on India, Trump burdened India with an additional 25% levy on Indian goods for continuing to purchase crude from Russia. It doubled the overall duty on Indian imports to 50%.

Before the Alaska meeting, he warned countries buying Russian oil that secondary sanctions could be imposed on them, basing on the outcome of talks. This created anxiety in India and China as they are the top two buyers of Russian oil.

The Kremlin expected the meeting to last 6-7 hours but it was wrapped up in nearly 3 hours. The main goal of the Alaska Summit, ‘pursuing peace’ was unmet. Reportedly, Russia launched 85 drones and one missile at Ukraine while the summit progressed in Alaska. While wrapping up the meeting, Putin quipped “Next time in Moscow” as the talks remained inconclusive. Alaska is a state in the USA. While Trump softened his stance, Putin projected himself as a sharper global leader.