Trump: India, Russia Lost to China
US President Donald Trump Wishes India, Russia and China a ‘Long and Prosperous Future Together
New Delhi: n a bizarre social media post dripping with sarcasm, US President Donald Trump said his country had “lost” India and Russia to “deepest, darkest China”, and wished the trio of nations “a long and prosperous future together”.
The post was put up with a photograph of Chinese President Xi Jinping flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin to his right and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his left entering a doorway and was an obvious reference to the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in Tianjin, which was hosted by President Xi.
India refused to comment on the post but rejected the recent anti-India vitriolic comments of President Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro as "wrong and misleading".
“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” President Trump posted.
“We have no comments to offer on the (President Trump’s) post,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a pre-scheduled weekly media briefing on Friday. Asked about the recent comments by Navarro, he said: “We have seen the inaccurate and misleading statements made by Navarro and obviously reject them.”
The MEA spokesperson, however, reiterated India’s commitment to strong bilateral ties with the US that had “weathered several transitions” and said it would make efforts to strengthen ties on the basis of “shared interests and mutual respect”. New Delhi said it would focus on the “substantive agenda” in the ties.
President Trump’s post comes in the wake of his move last week to specifically target India by imposing 50 per cent tariffs, half of which is a “penalty” for importing Russian oil. The Trump administration has made no secret of its intention to impose tariffs on India with a view to put pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine. India is the second-largest importer of Russian oil after China, but significantly the US has made no such move against Beijing. The US President’s post is seen as an American acknowledgment of the potential strength of any global alliance between India, China and Russia and an apprehension that it can challenge the Western order despite President Trump’s bravado.
Last week, Navarro had attacked India for its weapons purchases from Russia and had referred to New Delhi in derogatory terms as a “strategic freeloader”. The US President's trade adviser had posted: “It doesn’t stop there. India continues to buy Russian weapons — while demanding that US firms transfer sensitive military technology and build plants in India. That’s strategic freeloading.” Navarro has been launching almost daily tirades against India, especially after the US enforced the 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports. Earlier, he had termed the Russia-Ukraine conflict as (Prime Minister Narendra) “Modi’s war”, adding that the “road to peace” runs partly “right through New Delhi”. According to reports, he had claimed that “India is helping feed the Russian war machine”.
Meanwhile, asked about the Quad summit amid reports that President Trump was not planning any visit to India this year, the MEA spokesperson said Quad summits are scheduled on the basis of diplomatic consultations. He added that India saw the Quad as a “valuable forum”. On the American H-1B visa issue, India emphasised that people-to-people ties resulting in strong technical and financial collaboration are of mutual benefit to both nations and creates opportunities for Indian skilled workers to work in the US while benefiting the US economy as well.