PM Modi speaks to Putin: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a detailed conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, where both leaders discussed recent developments in Ukraine and reviewed progress in India-Russia bilateral ties. The conversation between the two world leaders came at a time when India-US relations are trading very low due to US Presidnet Donald Trump’s tariff threat to New Delhi.
PM Modi invites Putin to visit India
PM Modi thanked Putin for the updates on the ongoing Ukraine war and reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. The leaders expressed mutual interest in strengthening cooperation. PM Modi looks forward to hosting Putin in India later this year to further advance the strategic partnership, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.
Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine. We also reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 8, 2025
“Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine. We also reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. I look forward to hosting President Putin in India later this year,” PM Modi wrote on X.
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No detail on Trump’s tariff threat on oil India-Russia trade
The conversation between PM Modi and Putin came as Trump threatened to “substantially” raise US tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. Although the statement from the Ministry of External Affairs did not reveal whether the duo held a conversation on Trump’s threat to India regarding crude oil trade with Russia.
India’s bold message to Trump’s tariff threat
Hours after Trump’s tariff warning, India mounted an unusually sharp counterattack on the US and the European Union for their “unjustified and unreasonable” targeting of New Delhi for its procurement of Russian crude oil. Firmly rejecting the criticism, India pointed out the double standards in targeting it on the issue and said both the US and the EU are continuing their trade relations with Russia.
“Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
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The Europe-Russia trade includes not just energy, but also fertilizers, mining products, chemicals, iron and steel, and machinery and transport equipment, the MEA said.”Where the US is concerned, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilizers as well as chemicals,” it added.