Against the background of tense relations between Washington and New Delhi over trade tariffs and India's unabated imports of Russian crude, US President Donald Trump on Friday emphasized that the two countries have a "special relationship" and insisted there was nothing to worry about even amidst ongoing disputes.
"I will always be friends with (Narendra) Modi… He's a fantastic Prime Minister. He's fantastic. But I don't like what he's doing now. But there is a special relationship between India and the United States. There is nothing to fear. We just have moments every now and then," Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday.
The President was reacting to questions regarding whether he was prepared to reboot relations with India, as the two countries' relations go through one of their toughest moments in over two decades.
Trump also expressed anger at New Delhi's import of Russian oil. "I've been very disappointed that India would be buying so much oil from Russia, and I let them know that. We put a very big tariff on India, 50% tariff, a very high tariff. I get along very well with (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, he's great. He was here a couple of months ago," Trump said.
His comments came after a Truth Social post earlier in the day in which he declared, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” The post was accompanied by an old photograph of Prime Minister Modi alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, shared just days after their show of camaraderie at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin.
Asked if trade negotiations with India and other nations were going on, Trump replied, "They are going great. Other countries are doing great. We're doing great with all of them. We're upset with the European Union because of what's happening with not just Google, but with all of our big companies."
At the same time, Trump's economic team intensified their condemnation of India's trade policies and energy policy. Senior Trade and Manufacturing Counselor Peter Navarro penned on X, "India purchases Russian oil solely to make money/revenues to fuel Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians perish. U.S. taxpayers foot additional bill. India can't stand truth/spins." He further pointed out that India's large tariffs were hurting American jobs.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett also voiced those worries, telling journalists, "I think the trade team and the president are disappointed that India continues to finance Russia's Ukraine war, and hopefully it's a diplomatic matter that will have good development soon."
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