After months of simmering tensions, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump – two old friends – finally reached an agreement: Washington will drop tariffs on Indian exports from 50% to 18%, and in return, New Delhi will halt Russian oil purchases. Instead, it will buy from the US and possibly Venezuela. Trump had been pushing India, the second-largest buyer of Russian crude, to stop procuring it, but Modi refused to comply, in part because Indian refineries were benefitting from a discount. US sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil firms, imposed last November, changed the calculus, prompting Indian firms to reduce their purchases of Russian oil. The deal is a blow to the Russian state, which relies heavily on crude oil exports for its finances.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro will be the next world leader to seek a détente with Trump when he visits the White House today. Though Colombia is a traditional US ally, Petro and Trump have been publicly lambasting each other for a year. We’ll be watching to see if they can play nice today.
Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdoganmeets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman today in Riyadh. The two leaders long ago buried the hatchet over the Saudi government’s murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018, and they now want to deepen cooperation as major Sunni powers. They share an interest in backing the new Syrian government and in limiting Iranian influence. But uncertainty about Israeli ambitions and questions about Washington’s long-term regional commitment are driving another item on the agenda: Turkey wants to join the new Saudi-Pakistan strategic partnership. That would create a formidable triple alliance. Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella, Turkey’s NATO-level military, and Saudi Arabia’s deep pockets could reshape the Middle East. But it could also catch the attention of India, which has long been Pakistan’s principal strategic rival.
The United Nations is deploying its first peacekeeping mission in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, aimed at enforcing a ceasefire between the Congolese government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. The peace pact was initially signed last June in Washington, D.C., but hasn’t been successfully enforced, and violence has persisted in the region. Nonetheless, the entry of the UN mission marks a sign of progress. The current conflict has been ongoing since 2022, but various wars have ravaged the region in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
From the sidelines 2026, US-Canada Summit, hosted by Eurasia Group and RBC in Toronto, Tony Maciulis sits down with Thomas Dans, chairman of the US Arctic Research Commission, to discuss why the Arctic is increasingly central to national security, energy development, critical minerals, and geopolitical competition
Let's screw in a sixth generation lightbulb. #puppetregime
There are 48 countries involved in this year’s World Cup, but that only tells part of the story of just how global the “global game” has become.
In his latest Quick Take, Ian Bremmer says the US and Iran’s memorandum of understanding to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz marks progress, but warns it falls far short of resolving the broader conflict.