US President Donald Trump appeared to take a U-turn on his remark that the country had "lost India and Russia" to China. Hours after the statement, the Republican leader said he gets along "very well" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recalling the latter’s recent visit to the US.
Trump had shared a picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and PM Modi, with caption: 'Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!'
When asked about this post and whom does he blame for losing India to China, Trump replied: "I don't think we have. I've been very disappointed that India would be buying so much oil from Russia. I let them know that. We put a very big tariff on India- 50 per cent, very high tariff. I get along very well with (PM) Modi as you know. He was here couple of months ago...".
While Trump affirmed his ties with PM Modi, he also reiterated that the US was unhappy with India's oil purchase from Russia. Trump had announced 50% tariffs on Indian imports a few weeks back, that took effect on August 27. Half of these duties were announced as a penalty for India's oil trade with Russia.
{{/usCountry}}While Trump affirmed his ties with PM Modi, he also reiterated that the US was unhappy with India's oil purchase from Russia. Trump had announced 50% tariffs on Indian imports a few weeks back, that took effect on August 27. Half of these duties were announced as a penalty for India's oil trade with Russia.
{{/usCountry}}While Trump repeated his concerns with the India-Russia energy trade, he seemed to significantly mellow down on his earlier post on Truth Social. The President also said he would “always” be friends with PM Modi, and that India and the US share a “special relationship”.
“I always will, I will always be friends with Modi, he is a great Prime Minister, he is great... I just don't like what he is doing at this particular moment, but India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about,” Trump said when asked about resetting ties with India, reported news agency ANI.
With Trump's 50% tariffs taking effect and several Trump administration officials like Howard Lutnick, Peter Navarro and Scott Bessent repeatedly targeting India for its trade ties with Russia, New Delhi and Washington's ties have been turbulent in the recent past.
India recently rejected Navarro's “Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people” remark, one of his many statements against India. “We have seen some inaccurate statements made by him. We reject them," the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.
Trade negotiations are reportedly still on the table for India and the US, and Union Minister Piyush Goyal recently reassured that there was nothing to worry about. He also said that such negotiations need to be handled with patience, adding there's “never a timeline” for them.