The US President expressed dissatisfaction with the recent visits of Russian and Indian leaders to China, but still emphasized his good relationship with Mr. Modi.
According to Reuters, on September 5 (local time), US President Donald Trump complained about the leaders of India and Russia coming to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week.
Mr. Trump shared on the social network Truth Social: “It looks like we (the US) have lost India and Russia to China. Wishing them a long and prosperous future together!”.
Mr. Trump’s post was accompanied by a photo of Mr. Xi standing with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, just a few hours later, when talking to the press, Mr. Trump made a contradictory statement that “he does not think the US has lost India to China”.
The US President affirmed: “I don’t think so. I am very disappointed that India buys so much oil from Russia, as you know. And I have let them know that…
But I will always be a friend of Mr. Modi. He is a great prime minister. I will always be a friend, but I don’t like what he is doing at the moment. But India and the United States still have a special relationship and there is nothing to worry about. It’s just that we have disagreements from time to time.”
Very quickly, Mr. Modi responded to Mr. Trump on X: “Very much appreciate and completely reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our relationship. India and the United States have a very positive, forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership.”
Mr. Trump’s statement came in the context of US-India relations being strained due to trade disputes and many other disagreements.
Earlier this week, the US president also expressed “great disappointment” with Mr. Putin when the peace negotiations in Ukraine have not progressed, despite the results of the summit in Alaska in August.
However, the US president still emphasized that he is not worried about the growing relationship between Russia and China. On September 4, he also said that he plans to talk to the Russian president soon.
Russia and China have not yet responded to Mr. Trump’s statement.