Modi, Putin To Meet In Tianjin Amid US Tariff Pressures On Russian Oil Imports

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet on Monday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China's Tianjin, amid US pressure over Russian oil imports.

On Aug. 27, US President Donald Trump's additional tariffs to 'penalise' India for purchasing Russian crude oil came into effect, increasing India's cumulative tariff to 50% on a range of Indian imports.

Modi is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with Putin, and the Ukraine conflict is expected to be one of the focus areas of the talks.

"Right after the SCO Plus meeting (on Sept. 1), our president will meet Indian Prime Minister Modi," Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Friday.

“Our countries are bound by a special strategic partnership,” he said. “A relevant statement in this regard was passed in December 2010, which means that this year marks the 15th anniversary since then.”

“What is especially important is that preparations will be discussed for the upcoming visit of our president to India in December,” Ushakov added.

Earlier on Sunday, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Tianjin, their first in about ten months, for wide-ranging talks aimed at improving relations.

Modi on Sunday flagged concerns over cross-border terrorism in his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and pitched for cooperation between India and China to combat the menace as both the countries are its victims.

Modi and Xi held wide-ranging talks with a focus on rebuilding the bilateral relations that came under severe strain following the over four-year border standoff in eastern Ladakh that ended in October last year.

Modi landed in China on Saturday on a two-day visit that came after a gap of seven years. He is in China to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.