New Delhi: US President Donald Trump Friday ruminated that America has “lost” India and Russia to “deepest, darkest China”. His remarks come days after the leaders of the three countries—Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping—interacted at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said he had “no comments” to offer on Trump’s post, at a regular press briefing Friday.
The US president’s latest remarks come amid his mounting frustration with both New Delhi and Moscow over the lack of progress in ongoing negotiations with each country. On India, Trump has been unhappy with the stalled talks on a trade deal and New Delhi’s refusal so far to drop its tariffs on American agricultural and dairy exports.
Meanwhile, Putin and Trump met three weeks ago in Alaska for a summit aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. Before the summit, Trump had promised he would secure a ceasefire or impose further sanctions on Russia.
Immediately after the summit, however, Trump dropped his ceasefire demand, focusing instead on a full peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. He has yet to impose any new sanctions, despite Russia’s continued military actions against Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Trump again said that its 50 percent duties on Indian goods would negatively affect Russia’s war machine.
Earlier this week, Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the SCO summit “performative” and said India and the US have more in common than what New Delhi shares with Moscow and Beijing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in China on a two-day visit on 31 August and 1 September to attend the SCO Heads of State summit. He held bilateral talks with Xi on Sunday and with Putin on Monday. Modi and Putin also shared a 45-minute car ride to the venue for their talks.
The bonhomie among the three leaders was bound to irritate the White House. In recent weeks, the US administration has escalated pressure on India to stop purchasing Russian oil. Last week, White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro described the Russia-Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war”.
US officials have blamed India’s continued purchases of Russian oil for prolonging the conflict. Navarro claimed that “Brahmins” were enriching themselves and “profiteering” from the war, linking it to India’s exports of refined petroleum products while continuing to import discounted crude from Russia. Last year, India exported roughly $16 billion worth of refined petroleum products to Europe alone.
The latest tariffs imposed by Trump on India, as a penalty for these oil purchases, came into effect on 27 August. However, despite the political tensions, India and the US continue to engage at various levels. A team from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is also expected to meet American defence manufacturers next week to discuss the procurement of jet engines, ThePrint reported earlier.
(Edited by Malavalli Shashank)
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