MOSCOW: A top Russian diplomat said on Wednesday that the impetus to find a peace deal to end the fighting in Ukraine which emerged after a summit between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump in August had proven to be largely exhausted.
Trump and Putin met at a Cold War-era air force base in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15 in an attempt to end the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two.
Trump, who had previously said Kyiv should give up land to make peace with Moscow, has repeatedly said that he is disappointed with Putin for not ending the war, and has cast Russia as a “paper tiger.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who oversees relations with the US and arms control, accused European powers which support Ukraine of successfully torpedoing peace efforts.
“Unfortunately, we have to admit that Anchorage’s powerful momentum in favor of agreements has been largely exhausted by the efforts of opponents and supporters of the war,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
“This is the result of destructive activities, primarily by the Europeans,” he said.
Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
Western European leaders and Ukraine cast the war as an imperial-style land grab and have repeatedly vowed to defeat Russian forces. Putin blames the West for ignoring Moscow’s security concerns after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union about the enlargement of the NATO military alliance.
Ryabkov also said that the potential appearance of US Tomahawk missiles in Ukraine would mean a “qualitative” change in the situation, Interfax quoted him as saying.
Trump said earlier this week he would want to know what Ukraine planned to do with Tomahawks before agreeing to provide them because he did not want to escalate the war.
Russian diplomat: Impetus for peace in Ukraine after Putin-Trump summit has been exhausted
https://arab.news/mqf4e
Russian diplomat: Impetus for peace in Ukraine after Putin-Trump summit has been exhausted
- Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accuses European powers of successfully torpedoing peace efforts
- ‘This is the result of destructive activities, primarily by the Europeans’
Trump tariff rollback offers relief for Indian farmers
- Indian exporters had been hit harder than EU rivals among others
- Coffee, spices and tea among exempt products
NEW DELHI: Indian agricultural exporters are among the winners from US President Donald Trump’s exemption of dozens of food items from his reciprocal tariffs regime, which some analysts say could help to revive lost demand.
Trump on Friday removed tariffs he had imposed on more than 200 food products, including beef, as consumer concerns mount over rising US grocery prices.
Unlike EU and Vietnamese suppliers facing 15–20 percent duties, Indian exporters of tea, coffee, spices and cashew nuts were hit harder after Trump doubled tariffs to as high as 50 percent on imports of certain Indian goods, including a punitive 25 percent levy from the end of August on India’s Russian oil purchases.
Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), says that between $2.5 billion and $3 billion of exports will benefit from the tariff exemptions.
Positive signal for wider trade talks
“This order opens space for premium, speciality and value-added products,” he said. “Exporters who shift toward higher-value segments will be better protected from price pressures and can tap rising consumer demand.”
Officials involved in trade and farm export policy said the exemptions are also a positive signal for ongoing US–India trade talks and could ease export pressure triggered by this year’s tariff increases.
Exports of Indian goods to the US fell nearly 12 percent year on year in September to $5.43 billion after tariffs were raised. Indian farm exports, estimated to account for $5.7 billion of the country’s $87 billion exports to the US in 2024, were among those hit.
“The move benefits Indian farmers and exporters of tea, coffee, cashew and fruits and vegetables,” a senior official involved in Indian farm export policy said on condition of anonymity.
Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative lobby group, said India’s US-bound farm exports — focused on a few high-value spices and niche products — would register limited gains given its weak presence in key exempt items such as tomatoes, citrus fruits, melons, bananas and fruit juices.
“The tariff shift would marginally strengthen India’s position in spices and niche horticulture and help revive some lost US demand after the tariff hikes,” Srivastava added.
Latin American, African and ASEAN suppliers are likely to make larger gains, he said, adding that it was not immediately clear whether Indian exports will be exempt from 25 percent reciprocal tariffs or full 50 percent tariffs.
Exporters, however, fear that other factors will keep potential gains in check, pointing to high freight costs, strong competition from Vietnam and Indonesia and tougher US quality requirements.
“Tariff relief is important, but market recovery also depends on logistics and our ability to match prices,” one exporter said.
