The Modi government will hope that Washington and Moscow will arrive at a final agreement on how to deal with Ukraine and Trump will discard the 25 per cent additional tariff. At the minimum, Delhi would want Trump to postpone the deadline of August 27 for implementing the additional tariffs against India.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to hold a key summit in Alaska to discuss the ongoing Ukraine conflict, with both leaders expressing their positions ahead of the meeting.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton said Wednesday that President Trump’s tariffs may push India further away from the U.S. and into deeper alliances with Russia and China. The president previously threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on India for purchasing oil from the Kremlin absent of similar punishments for China,