Washington, Oct 17: President Donald Trump said Russia had asked to be represented at the G20 meetings the United States is hosting this year, and that he would welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Asked by reporters at the White House before departing on Marine One whether Putin was coming to the G20, Trump said, “No, no, they asked to be represented. I don’t know if he’s coming. Certainly would love to have him,” he said.

Trump raised the G20 himself while answering a question about fuel prices. “And one more, because on the G20 meetings, you had Russian representatives go to those meetings,” he said.

The United States holds the G20 presidency in 2026. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 30 and 31, according to the State Department. Trump will host the Leaders’ Summit on December 14 and 15 at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida, the State Department has said.

Russia and India are both members of the G20. India hosted the grouping’s summit in New Delhi in September 2023.

Trump also said he would like to reach a nuclear deal with China and Russia but is not counting on it happening this year.

On the war in Ukraine, Trump was asked whether he had forgotten that it was Putin who started the war. “Well, you know, I know the details, okay? And at some point I’ll release the details. But I don’t care anything except for one. I want that war ended,” he said.

“25,000 soldiers on average a month are being killed. Last month was 32,000 soldiers,” Trump said. “I deal with both of them. I think they want that war ended there, and I think it’s going to end. That’s all I care about. I want that war to end.”

Asked about restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starshield, Trump said, “No, we didn’t do that at all.”

A Japanese delegation visited the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolling system in Mundka-Bakkarwala on Friday on the sidelines of the 12th India–Japan Joint Working Group Meeting on Roads and Road Transportation.

The MLFF system provided insights into India’s technology-driven initiatives for seamless and efficient highway travel.

At the MLFFs, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) uses a combination of RFID-based FASTag electronic toll collection, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and AI analytics to allow vehicles to pass through charging points without stopping, slowing down or remaining in a designated lane.

MLFFs have already been installed at Choryasi in Gujarat, Mundka in Delhi, Gharaunda in Haryana and Daulatpura and Manoharpura in Rajasthan.

While 12 further locations have been awarded for conversion, tenders have also been launched covering an additional 104 toll plazas around the country.

The MLFF at Choryasi on the Surat–Bharuch section of NH-48 was the first to become operational.

The one at Mundka on Delhi’s Urban Extension Road-II was the second.

The expansion plan represents a significant shift from India’s traditional barrier-based toll plazas.

Rather than moving immediately to satellite-based toll collection, the Indian government has opted to build on the country’s established FASTag system and combine it with ANPR and AI.

Expert committees had recommended further consideration of GPS-based barrier-free tolling because of security, privacy and operational control issues, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has indicated.

FASTag and ANPR/AI was thus selected as the technology for the current MLFF programme.

The session of the India–Japan Joint Working Group on Roads and Road Transportation Sector was successfully held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

Discussions focused on advanced construction technologies, bridge and tunnel engineering, sustainable infrastructure and digital innovations, fostering the exchange of technical expertise and best practices.

“The meeting reaffirmed both nations’ commitment to safe, sustainable and technology-driven road infrastructure, aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047,” the Ministry said in a statement.

Washington, Oct 16: A long-awaited trade agreement between India and the United States is almost complete, with only one or two per cent of negotiations remaining, a senior US official said, signalling that the two countries are approaching a breakthrough after months of high-level discussions.

The official said the biggest issues had already been resolved and that negotiations were continuing at the highest political levels, including between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The biggest items have been settled. I mean …., it’s pretty much done. We have that one, one or two per cent left,” the official told reporters during a State Department briefing on Friday.

The remarks came ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s scheduled visit to India, where he will hold discussions with Indian government officials and leading business executives in Mumbai and Jamnagar.

The official said the two governments remained in constant contact over the proposed agreement.

“We are actively engaged every single week,” the official said, adding that high-level discussions on the trade deal were taking place regularly.

The official cited recent diplomatic engagements involving US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and conversations between Trump and PM Modi as evidence of the momentum behind the negotiations.

However, the official also identified a significant complication that had delayed the agreement.

An earlier understanding had been linked to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, but the legal framework had to be reconsidered after the law was struck down, according to the official.

The development forced negotiators to revisit elements of the proposed agreement and contributed to several additional months of discussions.

Despite those complications, the official expressed optimism that the remaining differences could be resolved soon.

Rubio is scheduled to travel first to Uzbekistan for meetings with Central Asian leaders before proceeding to India.

In Mumbai, he will meet Indian government counterparts and senior executives from some of the country’s largest companies.

The official said the decision to visit Mumbai rather than New Delhi reflected the administration’s growing emphasis on commercial diplomacy and Indian investment in the United States.

Rubio will also travel to Jamnagar.

The official said Washington was seeking closer engagement with India across information technology, pharmaceuticals, defence cooperation and other sectors.

Further visits by senior American Cabinet officials are also anticipated next year as both governments seek to expand bilateral engagement.