Overview

• Speaking in Helsinki alongside Lithuania’s president, Alexander Stubb warned the West will “lose the game” without a more cooperative, dignified approach to India and the wider Global South.
• He said the Tianjin summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation underscored attempts to weaken Western unity and warned the West is trying to preserve a fading order.
• The warning comes after President Trump imposed a combined 50% duty on Indian imports tied to purchases of discounted Russian crude, with levies effective August 27 that are hitting sectors such as textiles and diamonds.
• Indian officials have rejected the tariff rationale, with Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri calling allegations that India is financing Moscow’s war baseless.
• Stubb’s message is seen as notable given his unusual access to Trump after a seven-hour Mar-a-Lago golf meeting, and he recently phoned Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the Ukraine war and allied consultations.