Subhechcha Ganguly 
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has weighed in on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China.
When asked if the Modi-Putin engagement signaled that Western sanctions on Moscow were failing, Zelensky endorsed Washington’s approach of imposing tariffs on countries continuing trade with Russia. Calling it the “right idea,” the Ukrainian leader stressed that economic pressure remains vital in curbing Moscow’s war efforts.
The question to Zelensky came in the backdrop of striking visuals from the SCO Summit showing Modi, Putin, and Xi in a display of camaraderie that quickly went viral online. The meeting unfolded as the United States, under President Donald Trump, pressed ahead with steep tariff penalties on India — a 25 percent duty followed by an additional 25 percent — over New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil.
Trump, reacting to the summit, also accused India and Russia of drifting closer to Beijing. Sharing a photo of the Modi-Xi-Putin trio, he posted: “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!”
