Free Republic

President Vladimir Putin has presented US President Donald Trump's special envoy with an award to pass on to a senior CIA official whose son was killed fighting with Russia in Ukraine. Putin gave the Order of Lenin to Steve Witkoff during his trip to Moscow this week to discuss a plan to end the Ukraine war, sources familiar with the matter told the BBC's US partner CBS. Michael Gloss, 21, who was killed in Ukraine last year, was the son of Juliane Gallina, who is the CIA's deputy director for digital innovation. Reports of the award emerged as it was...

Russia on Tuesday weighed into the growing spat between India and the U.S., with the Kremlin saying New Delhi is free to choose its own trading partners. -snip- The Kremlin, an important trading partner of India's and one which had stayed silent as the spat erupted in the last few days, commented Tuesday that Trump's tariff threats are "attempts to force countries to stop trade relations with Russia." "We do not consider such statements to be legitimate," Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov continued, speaking to reporters Tuesday. "We believe that sovereign countries should have, and have the right to choose...

The Indian rupee may drop past 88 to the U.S. dollar to an all-time low on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened steeper tariffs on Indian goods, worsening fragile sentiment and stoking concerns of more foreign outflows. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated the rupee will open in the 88.00 to 88.04 range versus the U.S. dollar, down from 87.6550 on Monday. The rupee’s previous record low was 87.95, touched in February. Trump again threatened to substantially raise tariffs on Indian goods, citing India's continued purchases and resale of Russian oil. India’s foreign ministry responded, saying it will take all...

Days after Trump unveiled a new set of steep tariffs, Russia on Monday responded to the US administration for increasing tariffs and imposing sanctions on the country, accusing the government of using “neocolonial” policy against specific countries to maintain Washington’s hegemony. Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a statement, said no tariff wars or sanctions “can halt the natural course of history”. Calling sanctions and restrictions a “regrettable reality” of today’s historical stage that affects the entire world, she said that the US is unable to come to terms with the “loss of hegemony in the emerging world order.”...

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned on Tuesday that it is "illegal" to issue statements threatening to force countries to stop trading with Russia. He referred to comments made by United States President Donald Trump, who said he will impose tariffs on India because it buys "massive amounts" of Russian oil and resells it for "big profits." Peskov underlined that sovereign countries have the right to choose their trade partners.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced that he was contemplating a significant increase in tariffs on Indian imports within the next 24 hours due to India's procurement of Russian oil. Trump remarked in a CNBC interview that India has not been a favourable trading partner, pointing out that while India conducts extensive trade with the US, the US does not reciprocate. He added that although the tariff was initially set at 25 per cent, he expected to increase it substantially within a day due to India's purchase of Russian oil. "India has not been a good trading partner, because...