- File photo
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (Sept 6) said that he “deeply appreciates” and “fully reciprocates” US President Donald Trump’s assessment of India-US ties.
“Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties. India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership,” Modi said on X.
The PM was responding to Trump’s remarks that he will always be friends with Modi and that India and the US share a special relationship.
“I will always be friends with Modi, he is a great Prime Minister. India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about,” Trump said.
When asked about his earlier remarks that Washington may have lost New Delhi to Beijing, he said, “I don’t think we have”. “I get along very well with (Indian PM) Modi as you know, he was here a couple of months ago, we went to the Rose Garden,” he added.
This was Modi’s first public expression on India-US ties after Trump’s imposition of steep tariffs on India over the country’s purchase of Russian oil. It also marked Modi’s first public acknowledgment of Trump since he started taking credit, repeatedly, for brokering peace between India and Pakistan during their four-day conflict in May this year.
The ties between India and the US have been strained over the last few months. It started with US President Trump’s sudden announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May.
The two countries were attacking each other after India launched Operation Sindoor, its military response to the barbaric Pahalgam terror attack, for which New Delhi had squarely blamed Islamabad.
While Pakistan thanked Trump for brokering peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and even nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, New Delhi never admitted the US President’s role.
Despite that, Trump continued to repeat his claim on several occasions. He even claimed that he used trade to do that.
Prime Minister Modi was criticised by the Opposition for not responding to Trump’s claim. During the debate on Monsoon Session, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi had asked Modi to name Trump, and call him a liar for falsely claiming that he used trade to stop India-Pakistan war.
While Modi didn’t directly refer to the ceasefire and name Trump, he did say that not a single world leader asked India to stop Operation Sindoor.
After this, the two countries stopped negotiations on a bilateral trade pact and Trump slapped 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports to the US.
He further imposed an additional penalty of 25 per cent for purchasing Russian crude oil. Trump accused New Delhi of sponsoring Russia’s war in Ukraine.
While India maintained a dignified silence, several US officials continued to hit out at New Delhi for its purchase of Russian Federation oil.
With ties with the US strained, India recalibrated its foreign policy and improved its relationship with China, which has long been pushing for a new world order without America.
Several high-profile exchanges between the leaders of India and China culminated in Modi’s China visit, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The bonhomie among Xi, Modi and Putin apparently ratlled the US President, who conceded that Washington may have lost New Delhi to Beijing.
However, shortly after this, Trump took a sharp U-turn and praised India-US ties. He also stated that he will always be friends with Modi, recieving a public shoutout by the Indian PM. - The Statesman/ANN
