Bangladesh envoy's assurance must translate into action. Neighbours can't afford mistrust
Trump's rants are destroying the most consequential bilateral relationship of the 21st century
Tracking Trump is like watching a T20 thriller — odds flip with every ball, and whispers of a fixed match never fade. But this isn't a game. His ego-driven rants are destroying the most consequential bilateral relationship of the 21st century. Diplomacy deserves better than getting bowled by one man's tantrums.
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India.com
8 minutes ago
- India.com
‘Do As We Say, Not As We Do'? EU Lectures India Over Russian Oil, But Trade Numbers Reveal A Story It Won't Say Out Loud
New Delhi: Europe's top leaders speak in strong voices against Russia, but behind closed doors and shipping docks, the numbers tell another story. In 2024, the European Union's total trade with Moscow reached $70.3 billion. It was nearly equal to India's $72 billion, despite the EU leading global calls for Russia's economic isolation. For months, India has faced pressure from Western capitals. It has been cast as one of Moscow's key post-war trade partners. But the EU's own engagement with Russia runs deep. It covers not only fuel, but chemicals, metals, food and machinery. India's trade with Russia last year leaned heavily on energy. Fuel shipments alone reached $59.5 billion, making up over 80% of its total trade volume. Meanwhile, Europe has reduced its oil imports (only $24.2 billion in 2024) but maintains high-volume transactions across other sectors. Chemical trade between the EU and Russia stood at $17.6 billion. It is over six times India's $3.1 billion. In metals, the EU clocked $6.7 billion, far exceeding India's $0.9 billion. The bloc also recorded $5 billion in food imports and $4.4 billion in machinery and electronics from Russia. Imports tell only half the story. The EU exported $34 billion worth of goods to Russia in 2024. That was over seven times India's $4.9 billion exports. Europe sent $14.6 billion in chemicals, $5 billion in food and $3.7 billion in machinery and electronics. The patterns are tangled even among critics across the Atlantic. The United States imported $3.8 billion worth of Russian goods in 2024, more than half of which was fertiliser and chemicals. From Ukraine, the country it supports militarily and diplomatically, the United States imported only $1.23 billion in goods. It was less than India's $1.48 billion from the war-torn country. Ukraine paid $1.69 billion for US exports, raising questions about balance and benefit in a time of conflict. US President Donald Trump has renewed his attack on India over its energy imports from Russia. 'India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. While global speeches focus on isolation, trade flows reveal a more complicated map. Between policy podiums and port-side manifests, Moscow's trade routes remain far from silent.
Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
U.S. Sells $1 Billion in Arms to Europe for Ukraine, Sealing Shift in Approach
In one of the clearest demonstrations to date of how the West's approach to arming Ukraine against Russia is shifting under President Trump, four European countries are buying U.S. military equipment valued at roughly $1 billion for delivery to Kyiv's forces. The purchases, in two separate transactions coordinated by NATO, are expected to be the first of many funded by European governments and Canada following an agreement in principle earlier this summer. Trump has balked at providing U.S. weapons directly to Ukraine, as the Biden administration did, but he has signaled openness to selling the embattled country American arms. Trump and his senior officials have also said that Europe should shoulder more of the burden of supporting Ukraine because it is closer to them, and the U.S. is focused on China and the Pacific. The Netherlands on Monday agreed to the first $500 million purchase, and a consortium of Denmark, Sweden and Norway on Tuesday agreed to a similar purchase. The deals were coordinated by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization following an agreement at the White House on July 14 between Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and earlier discussions among leaders at NATO's annual summit in June. President Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where Trump announces a deal to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine through NATO, in Washington in July. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo 'This is about getting Ukraine the equipment it urgently needs now to defend itself against Russian aggression,' said Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister. NATO and Ukraine have established a shopping list of Kyiv's requirements for lethal and nonlethal equipment, dubbed the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List. NATO, Ukraine and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, will ensure the packages meet Kyiv's needs. NATO is dividing the list into packages valued at roughly $500 million apiece Governments are making financial commitments toward the packages and NATO, which has pledged 'rapid delivery from U.S. stockpiles' will coordinate delivery of the arms to Ukraine. Rutte said he had 'written to all NATO Allies, urging them to contribute toward this burden sharing initiative, and I expect further significant announcements from other Allies soon.' Deliveries of American weapons to Kyiv that were authorized by the Biden administration are still flowing across the border from Poland. Some of those weapons—primarily munitions like Patriot air-defense interceptors—were paused in June as part of a Pentagon review of U.S. munitions stockpiles. But those deliveries have since resumed, officials said. As part of the effort to arm Ukraine, the U.S. struck an agreement with Berlin under which Germany would send additional Patriot air-defense systems to Kyiv. Ukraine is set to receive the first two of these systems in the coming days, the German government announced Friday. In exchange, Germany will be the first nation to receive the newest Patriot systems off the U.S. production line at 'an accelerated pace,' according to a release from the German government. To facilitate this agreement, the Pentagon moved Germany ahead of Switzerland in the queue for the next Patriots, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. The U.S. plans to reshuffle future Patriot deliveries as additional countries sign on to send the systems from their arsenals to Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said. Write to Daniel Michaels at and Lara Seligman at
Indian Express
8 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Day after SC rap to lok sabha LoP over comments on Army, Opp bloc backs Rahul: ‘Judges can't decide who is true Indian'
A day after the Supreme Court censured Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his alleged remarks against the Army in the wake of the 2020 Galwan clash with the Chinese, saying, 'If you are a true Indian, you would not say all these things', Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and the INDIA bloc parties Tuesday rallied behind him, asserting it is not up to the judges to decide who is a 'true Indian'. Speaking to reporters in the Parliament complex, Priyanka said that as the LoP, Rahul was doing his duty to ask questions of the government. 'Who is a true Indian and who is not. With all due respect, I am saying that this doesn't fall under the judiciary's ambit. No justice will decide this. The second is that Rahul Gandhi has always respected the Army, the forces and its officers… The LOP's duty is to ask questions of the government. He is doing his duty. He asks questions of the government, which doesn't like them and doesn't want to answer those questions,' she said. Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said Rahul Gandhi's remarks are the thoughts of every Indian. 'When we ask questions inside the House or outside, they (the government) do not answer. We are termed anti-national for asking questions. But we are the true Indians who demand answers,' he told reporters in the Parliament House complex. The issue of the court's observation was also discussed during a meeting of the INDIA bloc floor leaders on Tuesday, after which the Congress said 'all the leaders of the INDIA bloc parties agreed that the sitting judge has made an extraordinary observation which is unwarranted on the democratic rights of political parties'. Asked about impasse in Parliament over opposition demand for a debate on the electoral roll revision, Vadra put the blame on the government. 'The Parliament is not functioning. They (government) should hold talks, and say they will have a discussion. How difficult is it to run Parliament? Have they become so weak that they can't run the House? … It is their failure that the Parliament is not functioning.'
