India Cited Trump’s ‘Unpredictable Behaviour’ For Avoiding Press Meet

They were responding to US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor’s disclosure on Saturday about India’s reluctance to have questions taken at the meeting.

Government sources said foreign delegations meeting the US President were wary of his unpredictable behaviour, as seen during his interactions with the Presidents of South Africa and Ukraine.

“Discussions regarding arrangements for public appearances by leaders are normal practice ahead of any VVIP visit. In this regard, the Indian side communicated its standard practice for such visits,” a source said.

However, during the bilateral meeting between the two leaders at Evian on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Trump invited questions from the waiting media.

Speaking at a conference organised by a media group in New Delhi on Saturday, Gor recalled that Trump had asked him what issues India was likely to raise and whether it had any requests.

“And the MEA had one ask. I told the President that the Indians preferred no questions. He said, ‘Sure, no problem’,” Gor said.

Trump initially agreed to invite the media without holding a full press conference. But after the two leaders delivered their opening remarks, he asked the assembled journalists, “Any questions?”

“That opened everything up,” Gor said, adding that the interaction turned into a 45-minute press conference in which “everything was on the table”.

The meeting came days after three Indian seafarers were killed in American strikes on an oil tanker off the Oman coast. Modi raised the safety of Indian seafarers during his talks with Trump.

Sources said earlier awkward encounters involving Trump and foreign leaders had weighed on New Delhi’s mind. During a media interaction with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Trump unexpectedly raised the Pearl Harbour attack. On another occasion, he had a heated argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before television cameras.