 "India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. File image/PTI")
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi attaches “great importance” to the India-US relationship, after he responded to US President Donald Trump’s “friends” comment.
PM Modi posted on X that he “deeply appreciated” Trump’s assertion that India and US share a “very special relationship”, backtracking from his previous statement that the country “lost India to China”.
“PM Modi attaches enormous importance to our partnership with the US. Where President Trump is concerned, he (PM Modi) has always had a very good personal equation with President Trump. But the point is that we remain engaged with the US, and at this time, I can’t say more than that. But that’s really what I would say,” Jaishankar said soon after PM Modi’s statement.
This marks PM Modi’s first big statement on India-US ties after Trump’s tariffs went into effect last month. Since then, Trump has been repeatedly slamming India for buying Russian oil and defending his 50 per cent tariffs on the country.
Meanwhile, Trump’s comments came after PM Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the SCO Summit earlier this month, threatening the US president’s position amid his tariff war.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsImages of Modi, Xi, and Putin dominated headlines, sparking speculation in the West. With Trump ramping up pressure on India through an aggressive campaign, many analysts viewed the trio’s meeting as either a sign of India drifting toward the China-Russia axis or a strategic message to Washington that India has alternatives beyond the U.S. in its global partnerships.