After Trump jab, India’s Modi says ties with US still ‘very positive’

After US President Donald Trump downplayed earlier claims that India was “losing India” to China, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says ties with the US are still “very positive.”

In a statement posted on X on Saturday, Modi said that India and the US “have a very positive and forward-looking comprehensive and global strategic partnership” and that they “deply appreciate and fully endorse President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties.”

After the Trump administration imposed tariffs of up to 50% on Indian imports, accusing New Delhi of buying Russian oil of stoking Moscow’s deadly attacks on Ukraine, tensions have grown between the two long-time allies.

When Trump claimed on Friday that India and Russia appeared to have been “lost” to China, the rift was getting worse. Following a security summit in China, Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

For the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin earlier this week, Xi hosted more than 20 leaders from non-Western nations, including Modi and Putin. Modi’s first visit to China in seven years indicates a thaw between the two Asian powers.

“Looks like we’ve lost China’s deepest, darkest, and India’s economies. May they together have a prosperous and fulfilling future together”! Trump shared a photo of Modi with Xi and Putin in a social media post.

Trump downplayed his earlier statement when reporters inquired about it later on Friday, saying he didn’t believe the US had lost India to China.

He responded, “I don’t believe we have.” “I’ve been very disappointed that India is purchasing so much oil from Russia,” I recall. And I revealed that to them.

Trump reaffirmed that “India and the United States have a special relationship,” saying that he “will always be friends with Modi.” He said, “There is nothing to worry about.”

Trump and Modi, both right-wing populists, have forged a strong relationship since taking office.

Trump recently expressed irritability in New Delhi as he sought credit for what he claimed was a Nobel Prize-worthy diplomacy for bringing peace to Pakistan and India following the region’s worst conflict in decades.

Since then, India has rebuffed any third-party mediation regarding Kashmir.