Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday flexed his country’s ties with India and China ahead of President Trump’s announcement of a planned meeting with Putin in Alaska on Aug. 17.
Putin held phone calls with both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, which Trump had set as the deadline for Russia to agree to a peace deal or face “secondary tariffs” on its key trading partners.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Putin is demanding major territorial concessions by Ukraine in exchange for a halt to fighting.
Modi’s call with Putin came as India is facing an additional 25 percent in U.S. tariffs over its continued purchase of Russian oil, set to kick in at the end of this month, on top of 25 percent “reciprocal” tariffs that took effect this week.
Modi after the call said he had a “very good and detailed conversation” with the Russian leader, who briefed him on the latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We also reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,” Modi said. “I look forward to hosting President Putin in India later this year.”
The call with Modi came a day after Putin met with India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval in Moscow. India has pushed back on Trump’s tariff threats, saying buying Russian oil is necessary to stabilize domestic energy costs.
Putin also spoke with Xi on Friday, briefing the Chinese president on his Wednesday huddle with Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The Kremlin said that Xi showed support for the “settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a long-term basis.”
The Chinese president told Putin that Beijing, which provided crucial support to Russia’s war, would continue “promoting peace and dialogue.”
The calls come amid a flurry of diplomacy on all sides after the Wednesday meeting between Putin and Witkoff, which Trump said was “highly productive” and made “great progress.”
The president warned last month that Russia could stare down “severe” tariffs if Moscow did not agree to a ceasefire within the next two months, a timeline he shortened to Friday of this week.
He has said nations doing business with Russia would face a 100 percent “secondary” tariffs, in a bid to further isolate Moscow economically.
When asked Friday at the White House, while hosting the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for a peace summit, if the Friday deadline would still entail punishment for Russia if it did not agree to a ceasefire, Trump demurred.
“We’re going to see what he has to say,” the president told reporters. “It’s gonna be up to him. Very disappointed.”
Late on Friday, Trump announced on social media that he and Putin will meet next Friday in Alaska.
At the White House, Trump indicated that swapping territories between Russia and Ukraine is part of potential peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
“You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for three and a half years. A lot of Russians have died, a lot of Ukrainians. So we’re looking at that, but we’re actually to get some back and some swapping. It’s complicated,” Trump said on Friday.
“It’s actually — nothing easy. It’s very complicated. But we’re going to get some back. And we’re going to get some switched,” the president added. “They’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both, but we’ll be talking about that either later or tomorrow or whatever.”
The Journal reported that Putin’s proposal entails Ukraine withdrawing its military from the eastern Donetsk region, essentially letting Moscow oversee Luhansk and Donetsk, along with Crimea – comprising most of the country’s east. A second phase would entail Putin and Trump agreeing on the final peace agreement that would later be discussed with Zelensky.
Witkoff’s spokesperson declined to comment.
Witkoff spoke with senior European officials from Germany, France, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Italy and Finland on Thursday, two sources familiar with the call told The Hill on Thursday.
The special envoy held another call with European national security officials on Friday, according to a NATO official and another source briefed on the matter. After the huddle, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top adviser, Andriy Yermak, said the officials “focused on coordinating positions to bring a sustainable and just peace for Ukraine as soon as possible.”
“We are ready to work as productively as possible to save lives and stop the fighting,” he wrote on social media.
The president said at the White House on Friday that Zelensky “has to get all of his, everything he needs, because he’s going to have to get ready to sign something and I think he’s working hard to get that done.”
