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THIS is the bizarre moment Vladimir Putin is seen holding hands with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an "anti-Nato" summit. The inseparable pair were seen giggling and smiling at one another as they met up with Chinese despot Xi Jinping for crunch talks in Tianjin.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin stole the spotlight at the Shanghai Cooperation Council summit in Tianjin with their warm gestures and camaraderie. The two leaders walked together, shared light moments, and exchanged jokes, showcasing a bond that appeared stronger than ever. Modi was seen hugging Putin on the sidelines, a moment that fuelled headlines amid growing Western unease over India’s oil trade with Russia.

Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi held hands as they walked side-by-side to greet Xi Jinping at a summit designed to showcase China’s vision for a new world order. The Indian prime minister rode in the back of a car with his Russian counterpart and shared a picture of the pair embracing, saying it was “always a delight to meet President Putin”. Mr Xi, the Chinese president, has used the summit to present his vision for a new global security and economic order in a direct challenge to the United States. “We should advocate for equal and orderly multipolarisation of the...

India's Narendra Modi told Vladimir Putin on Monday that India and Russia stood side by side even in difficult times after the Kremlin chief called the Indian prime minister his "dear friend" and gave him a lift in his armoured limousine. -snip- On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in China's port city of Tianjin, Modi held Putin's hand as they walked towards Chinese President Xi Jinping. All three smiled as they spoke, surrounded by translators.

It is a summit designed to challenge the West's historical dominance of the world –hosting the likes of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. On Sunday, China hosted the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, a grand meeting of the leaders of 26 nations, many of them opposed to the US and Europe. Putin and Chinese president Xi, who are closely allied under what they have termed a 'limitless' partnership, also held side talks to discuss the Russian leader's recent meeting with Donald Trump, a Kremlin official said. Xi personally welcomed several leaders, including Indian prime minister Narendra Modi,...

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged on Sunday to resolve their border differences and bolster cooperation, ahead of the opening of a regional summit in Tianjin. Modi is on his first visit to China since relations between the two countries deteriorated after Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in deadly border clashes in 2020. Modi is visiting as part of India's membership into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional political, economic and security group founded by China. Modi said in his opening remarks that relations with China have moved in "a meaningful direction," adding that "there...

The leaders of China and India say there is now deepening trust between them after years of tension that includes a long-running border dispute. China's President Xi Jinping and Indian PM Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the port city of Tianjin. It is Modi's first time in China in seven years. Xi told Modi that China and India should be partners, not rivals while Modi said there was now an "atmosphere of peace and stability" between them. President Putin is also at the summit, attended by more than 20 world leaders, but...

Donald Trump has imposed a hefty 50% tariff on Indian goods, a move prompted by India's continued purchase of Russian oil. This action endangers over half of India's exports to its biggest market. According to New Delhi, the tariffs that come into effect today (Wednesday, August 27) will impact £35.8billion ($48.2bn) worth of exports. Initially, the US President announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods. However, earlier this month, he signed an executive order for an additional 25% tariff in response to India's purchases of Russian oil. This brings the total tariffs levied by the United States on its ally...

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting came hours after Mr Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov. It largely focused on expanding the trade ties between the two countries. The meeting comes amid Trump's tariffs and pressure on India to stop buying oil from Russia, claiming that it fuelled the Ukraine war. "We believe that relations between India and Russia have been among the steadiest of the major relationships in the world after the Second World War," Mr Jaishankar said at a joint media briefing with Mr Lavrov. "Geo-political convergence, leadership...

As External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar prepares for crucial talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, India finds itself at the centre of a diplomatic storm. President Trump has unleashed his most aggressive economic assault on India in recent memory, wielding tariffs and sanctions as weapons to force New Delhi away from its Russian partnerships. The pressure campaign began in August 2025 with sweeping 25% tariffs on Indian exports, later doubled to 50% specifically targeting Russian oil imports. For a nation whose economic planners depend heavily on US markets, this represents a devastating blow. Nearly 70% of India's...

Russia expects to continue supplying oil to India despite warnings from the United States, Russian embassy officials in New Delhi said on Wednesday, adding that Moscow hopes trilateral talks will soon take place with India and China. US President Donald Trump has announced an additional tariff of 25 percent on Indian goods exported to the US from August 27, as a punishment for buying Russian oil, which constitutes 35 percent of India’s total imports compared with a negligible 0.2 percent before the Ukraine war. “I want to highlight that despite the political situation, we can predict that the same level...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday accused India of profiteering from cheap Russian oil imports during the war in Ukraine, describing the practice as "arbitrage" and condemning it as unacceptable. "They are just profiteering. They are reselling," Bessent told CNBC's "Squawk Box" in an interview. "This is what I would call the Indian arbitrage — buying cheap Russian oil, reselling it as product." "They've made $16 billion in excess profits — some of the richest families in India," Bessent said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China for the first time in over seven years, a government source said on Wednesday, in a further sign of a diplomatic thaw with Beijing as tensions with the United States rise. Modi will go to China for a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organisation that begins on Aug. 31, the government source, with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His trip will come at a time when India's relationship with the U.S. faces its most serious crisis in...

Trump's imposition of additional tariffs is "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable", the Ministry of External Affairs said. Shortly after US President Donald Trump announced an additional 25% tariffs on India on Wednesday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement, noting that the country will "take all all actions necessary to protect its national interests." The additional import levies have been slapped by Trump to "penalise" India for its continued purchase of Russian crude oil. The MEA, in its statement, said India's imports are based on market factors and done with the "overall objective of ensuring the energy security of...

President Trump took executive action Wednesday to hammer India with an additional 25% tariff due to its continued purchases of Russian oil. The move, which will take effect Aug. 27, will increase the total US tariff rate on India to 50% and comes ahead of Trump’s Friday deadline for Russia to make peace with Ukraine or face secondary tariffs or sanctions — penalties on countries that continue purchasing energy from Moscow. “The actions and policies of the Government of the Russian Federation continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United...

Economic warfare is dismantling free trade and turning friends into foes. This has nothing to do with trade tariffs, as the issue is the tariffs we are placing on nations for the sole purpose of political policy. The US is threatening India with sanctions if it continues to purchase Russian oil, and the Kremlin is using that to its advantage. “We believe that sovereign countries should have, and have the right to choose their own trade partners, partners in trade and economic cooperation. And to choose those trade and economic cooperation regimes that are in the interests of a particular...

United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday imposing an additional 25% tariff on India in response to its continued purchase of Russian oil. More to come...

India has accused the EU and US of “indulging” in trade with Russia after Donald Trump criticised New Delhi for propping up Vladimir Putin’s war machine by buying its oil.The country’s foreign ministry said it was forced to buy “predictable and affordable” Russian oil after other supplies were diverted to Europe after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.It comes after the US president threatened to “substantially raise” tariffs on India, adding the country was buying discounted Russian oil and “selling it on the open market for big profits.”India called the attack “unjustified and unreasonable” in a statement, arguing that its...

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...

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...