US President Donald Trump has failed to secure a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine despite high-level meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House. French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders pressed for an immediate truce, but Trump rejected their demands, insisting that only a long-term peace framework would end the conflict.
The setback follows last week’s Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, which also ended without progress. Trump has since held a 40-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and is now pushing for a three-way meeting with Putin and Zelensky, offering to act as mediator. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated that such a meeting could happen within two weeks, and Putin has signaled his agreement.
Trump’s earlier attempts to pressure Moscow through sanctions and heavy tariffs on India, one of Russia’s key oil buyers, have failed to yield results. Despite these measures, Trump has not been able to bend Putin’s position or persuade India to scale back energy ties with Moscow.
European leaders remain frustrated, fearing Trump is conceding too much ground to Putin. Many feel the US president is ‘walking along the lines drawn by Putin.’ Russia has already annexed Crimea, and Trump presented Putin’s demand for formal recognition of Crimea as Russian territory before Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader rejected it, arguing such recognition would only embolden Moscow.
The dispute over the Donbass region also remains unresolved. Putin has demanded control over the mineral-rich eastern territories, but Zelensky has refused to cede ground. At the same time, Putin accepted the principle of enhanced security for Ukraine but rejected NATO-style guarantees. European leaders want an Article 5-type arrangement, treating an attack on Ukraine as an attack on all NATO states. For Moscow, however, this is a red line.
Thank my friend, President Putin, for his phone call and for sharing insights on his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska. India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard. I look forward to our…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 18, 2025
Modi’s Reforms Lift Indian Stocks Amid US Tariff Pressure
While diplomacy stalls, financial markets in India told a different story. Indian stocks posted their best gains in recent memory on Monday, buoyed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reform announcements, including new GST measures and Mission Sudarshan Chakra. The Sensex jumped over 1,000 points before profit-booking pared gains to 676 points. The Nifty also surged more than 300 points.
On Tuesday, the Gift Nifty showed early gains before slipping, suggesting a cautious but upward trajectory for Indian equities. Market optimism is tied to expectations of GST relaxation, cheaper products, and rising consumer demand. Sectors such as automobiles, FMCG, consumer durables, and real estate saw strong rallies, while IT and pharma underperformed, weighed down by trade tensions stemming from the India-US tariff dispute.
The contrast between Trump’s diplomatic struggles and India’s domestic market optimism underscores the shifting global landscape, where geopolitical uncertainty coexists with domestic economic confidence.
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