Fiona Hill, a Russian expert and former White House adviser, who witnessed meetings between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, tells The Independent podcast World of Trouble’s Sam Kiley that the Russian president knows how to mesmerise his US counterpart,

O N DECEMBER 4th, as The Economist went to press, Vladimir Putin was due to touch down in Delhi for the 23rd instalment of the India-Russia summit, an annual affair with many manly hugs and lots of bonhomie.

US pressure aims to choke off Russian oil supplies to India. Modi and Putin are seeking to deepen cooperation in other areas. But in the long-term, relations are in a managed decline.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday asserted that US President Donald Trump "must respect" India's rights to have relations with other countries, as Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India at a time when the US has imposed punitive tariffs on its goods over New Delhi's Russian oil purchases.

Donald Trump still doesn’t seem to have learned a thing about the Russian dictator he calls a friend. He’s tried all kinds of contradictory gambits in pursuit of peace in Ukraine: welcoming Vladimir Putin in Alaska,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin have graced billboards across India in recent weeks. One caption reads: “The dialogue began decades ago. We’re just turning up the volume.” Another hails the “old friendship” between the two nations.

Donald Trump appears to have finally fallen out of love with Vladimir Putin, which is good news, long time coming. If you cut through all of the back-and-forth over the past week regarding the war in Ukraine, the central issue remains the same. And unresolved.

Russian missile, drone and shelling attacks overnight and Sunday killed at least three people in Ukraine, after U.S. and Ukrainian officials wrapped up a

India gave Russia's leader a warm welcome in his first visit since his country invaded Ukraine. The visit in part signaled India's defiance of the U.S., which has punished New Delhi for buying Russian oil.

When Vladimir Putin’s plane touches down in New Delhi this week, he will be met with the pomp and ceremony reserved for one of India’s most steadfast partners. Yet his host, Prime Narendra Modi, is simultaneously forging a deep strategic relationship with a key global rival: the United States.