India welcomes Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, hails 'progress'
The MEA called the leaders' "pursuit" of peace "highly commendable" and reiterated that the way forward can only be through dialogue and diplomacy
India on Saturday (August 16) welcomed the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska, saying that the way forward in achieving peace can only be through dialogue and diplomacy.
The development comes within hours after Trump hinted that he might not immediately act on his consideration of imposing retaliatory tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia.
The US President has already slapped a 25 per cent punitive tariff on India for buying Russian oil, which, along with the earlier 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs, pushed the combined US tariff rate on Indian goods to 50 per cent.
Also Read: After Alaska meeting, Putin, Trump may meet in Moscow next
MEA praises progress in Trump-Putin talks
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement also praised Trump and Putin for their “pursuit” of peace.
"India welcomes the Summit meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Their leadership in the pursuit of peace is highly commendable,” stated the MEA.
It further stated that India appreciates the progress made in the Summit meeting between Trump and Putin without elaborating on the nature of the progress achieved.
Earlier, Trump indicated that the meeting was inconclusive, saying “There's no deal until there's a deal” while Putin said that they had come to “an understanding”.
“India appreciates the progress made in the Summit. The way forward can only be through dialogue and diplomacy. The world wants to see an early end to the conflict in Ukraine,” added the MEA.
Also Read: Putin-Trump meeting: What happened or what did not happen? 10 points
Trump to delay retaliatory tariffs?
Following his Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin, Trump indicated he may postpone imposing additional retaliatory tariffs on countries buying Russian oil for “two or three weeks,” though he saw no need to act immediately.
In a Fox News interview after the meeting, Trump described the discussions as “very productive” and suggested that the positive outcome rendered immediate tariff action unnecessary. He did not clarify whether future measures would be new retaliatory duties or supplemental penalties on top of existing sanctions.
Also Read: Putin-Trump Alaska talks end in a whimper
Punitive US tariff on India
Last month, Trump had threatened 100 per cent tariffs on Russia unless it agreed within 50 days to end the Ukraine war, and warned of secondary sanctions on any nation continuing to trade with Moscow.
He particularly targeted India, doubling existing tariffs from 25 to 50 per cent over New Delhi’s ongoing Russian oil imports, half of which took effect immediately and the remainder slated for August 27.
Also Read: Trump-Putin Alaska meeting: Why it matters | Prof Swaran Singh explains
New Delhi reacts
New Delhi condemned the penalties as “unfair” and insisted its oil purchases were driven solely by economic and energy-security considerations.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had cautioned that Washington could escalate secondary tariffs on India if the Alaska talks faltered.