U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is “very close” to India and has a strong personal rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, the British PM’s countryside residence, Trump noted that he recently spoke to Modi to wish him a happy 75th birthday.
“I’m very close to India. I’m very close to the Prime Minister of India. I spoke to him the other day to wish him a Happy Birthday,” Trump said, adding that Modi had issued a “beautiful” statement in response.
Trump’s remarks come amid ongoing trade tensions between the two countries. The Trump administration earlier this year doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 percent, including additional duties on India’s purchases of Russian crude oil. Speaking on the matter, Trump defended the sanctions, saying they were intended to influence global oil prices and put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war in Ukraine. “Very simply, if the price of oil comes down, Mr. Putin is going to drop out. He’s going to have no choice. He’s going to drop out of that war,” Trump said.
Trump also reiterated his claim of having intervened in the India-Pakistan face-off earlier this year, saying he helped secure a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. “We did seven [conflicts] and most of them were not thought to be settleable. We did India, and we did Pakistan. That was purely for trade. You [India and Pakistan] want to trade with us, you’re going to have to get along. And they were going at it hot and heavy,” he said. India, however, has consistently denied any third-party intervention, stating that the understanding to cease hostilities was reached through direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two militaries.
Trump, accompanied by his wife Melania, is in the UK on a two-day state visit at the invitation of King Charles III. The couple departed Chequers to board Air Force One for Washington shortly after the press conference.
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