Trump affirms friendship with Modi, calls India-US ties ‘special’ despite Russia oil, tariff concerns

US President Donald Trump said he will “always be friends” with PM Modi and that India-US ties remain “special,” despite tensions over tariffs and India’s Russian oil imports. He voiced disappointment but downplayed fears of a diplomatic rupture.

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump said India and the United States have a “special relationship” and there’s nothing to worry about as the two countries “just have moments on occasion”, amid current tensions between Washington and Delhi over tariffs and purchases of Russian oil.

“I’ll always be friends with (Narendra) Modi, he’s a great prime minister. He’s great. I’ll always be friends, but I just don’t like what he’s doing at this particular moment,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday.

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“But India and the United States have a special relationship. There’s nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion,” Trump added with a smile.

The president was responding to a question on whether he is ready to reset relations with India, as ties between the two countries continue to reel under possibly the worst phase in over two decades.

Trump also said that he is “very disappointed” that India would be buying “so much” oil from Russia.

“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 per cent tariff, 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 in response to a question on his social media post that the US has lost India and Russia to China.

In the Truth Social post, Trump said that “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together! President Donald J. Trump”.

Trump had also posted an old photo of Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump’s post on social media came days after the bonhomie among Modi, Xi and Putin at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese city of Tianjin drew global attention.