Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin sounded notes of optimism as they prepared to meet in Alaska in an effort to end the disastrous Ukraine War, which, if successful, could in turn stave off the punitive 25 per cent US tariff India is facing for importing Russian oil. “I believe now he (Putin) is convinced that he’s going to make a deal”, President Trump said during a Fox Radio interview. “He’s going to make a deal”.
Briefing his advisers at the Kremlin, President Putin said President Trump has been making “fairly vigorous and sincere efforts to halt hostilities, resolve the crisis, and reach agreements that serve the interests of all parties involved in this conflict.” If a peace deal is reached through the summit, India may be able to avoid the oil tariff threatened to be imposed on August 27.
However, the other principal personality who will have to agree to any deal, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, will not be at the summit in a US military base in Alaska. He was in London meeting Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and they said in a joint statement that the Trump-Putin talks “present a viable chance to make progress as long as Putin takes action to prove he is serious about peace”.
While preparations for the Trump-Putin summit were underway, Zelensky called Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to brief him on the developments, and, according to the President’s office, they agreed that “everything concerning Ukraine must be decided with Ukraine’s participation. Other formats will not yield results”.
President Trump made clear that it was for Presidents Zelensky and Putin to make the final deal.
