Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Michael Kugelman, a Washington, DC-based South Asia analyst, emphasised that there is a “strong link” between the Trump-Putin meeting and the tariffs imposed on India.
Speaking to ANI, Kugelman stated that “There is potentially a very strong link between this upcoming meeting and the tariffs on India.”
“This appears to be the last-ditch effort Trump wants to make to get Putin to agree to stop fighting or for a ceasefire (with Ukraine). If Putin does agree to the ceasefire or something close, it would potentially take the heat off of India,” he added.
The tariffs on India, imposed by Trump, have been a point of contention between the two countries. The US has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, citing India’s oil imports from Russia.
Trump said that he’s meeting with Putin to see what the parameters of a peace deal could be before he speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders.
“I’m going to meet with President Putin and we’re going to see what he has in mind, and if it’s a fair deal I’ll reveal it to the European Union leaders and to the NATO leaders and also to President Zelensky,” Trump said, noting that he’ll call Zelensky first “out of respect.”
Earlier in the day, Trump expressed optimism about the possibility of normal trade between both countries.
When asked if he sees a time when there could be normal trade between the US and Russia, Trump said, “I do. Russia has a very valuable piece of land. If Vladimir Putin would go toward business instead of toward war, you know, it’s a warring nation. That’s what they do. They fight a lot of wars. A friend of mine said Russia is tough because they just keep on fighting.”
“We’re going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin. And at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” he added.
Trump made these comments while addressing the White House briefing on Monday (local time). (ANI)
