Modi, Putin call affirms close India-Russia ties despite US pressure

[Desmond Milligan 0]

A call between the leaders of Russia and India affirmed the countries’ close ties despite Washington’s demands for New Delhi to wean itself off Russian oil.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday thanked his “friend,” Russia’s Vladimir Putin, for briefing him on Putin’s recent meeting with US President Donald Trump. Modi is caught in the geopolitical “game of chicken” between Washington and Moscow, The Indian Express wrote: India wants Trump to reverse his tariff penalty over its economic ties to Russia, while still maintaining friendly relations with Moscow.

Washington is ramping up pressure, with Trump’s top trade adviser slamming India’s dependence on Russian energy as “opportunistic and deeply corrosive of the world’s efforts to isolate Putin’s war economy.”

Chart showing India-Russia trade.

— J.D. Capelouto

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