Potus undoes some knots in ties; PM Modi responds in kind

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday “deeply” appreciated and “fully” reciprocated Donald Trump’s “positive assessment” of India-US partnership, hours after the US President hailed their “special relationship,” signalling attempts by both sides to dial down tensions exacerbated by the US slapping 50% tariffs on India.

“Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties,” Modi said in a post on X. “India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership.”

The comments came after the US President, from the Oval Office, said he will always be friends with Modi, although he added without elaborating that he didn’t like what the Indian PM was doing at the moment. “I will always be friends with Modi, he is a great Prime Minister, he’s great,” Trump said.

“But India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion,” Trump said, responding to a question on whether he was ready to reset relations with India.

Asked how trade talks with India and other countries were progressing, Trump said, “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.”

The US President also said he was “very disappointed” India was 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% tariff, a very high tariff. I get along very well with Modi, he’s great. He was here a couple of months ago,” he said.

Trump imposed 25% additional tariffs on India, on top of the existing 25%, starting August 27, citing purchase of discounted Russian oil, which he claimed was funding the Ukraine war.

Reacting to the latest developments, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said, "PM Modi attaches enormous importance to our partnership with the US. He has always had a very good personal equation with President Trump. But the point is that we remain engaged with the US, and at this time, I can’t say more than that. But that’s really what I would say.”

Trump’s praise for the PM came less than 24 hours after he pulled up the RIC (Russia-India-China) grouping. In a post on Truth Social, he had said, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to the deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!”

People familiar with the matter said that while the US President’s latest remarks indicated a thaw, the situation was still delicate and it remained to be seen whether the US would offer some relief on tariffs.

What may have worked, as per one of the persons, was the informal huddle among the leaders of Russia, India and China at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit in Tianjin, which sparked a debate in the pro-Trump media on the future of India US ties as well as in the ‘Make America Great Again’ camp.

Simultaneously, India remained firm on its policy of strategic autonomy and maintained that its oil purchases from Russia were based on domestic requirements and the need to keep global oil prices stable.

On Friday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India will continue to import crude oil from Russia, despite mounting US pressure and newly imposed tariffs. She emphasised that India’s energy decisions are based on national interests and economic logic, not external demands. The Reserve Bank of India has already started diversifying its holding in the US Treasuries, along with purchasing of gold, she said. Significantly, over the past week, Trump did not take credit for brokering the IndiaPakistan ceasefire, an issue that has been the biggest bone of contention with India in recent months.

However, hours before Trump’s comments on Modi, a number of senior US officials attacked India. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday said he expects India will be back at the negotiating table in the next one or two months “saying sorry” to try to sign the trade deal, as the US is the largest consumer in the world and because the “consumer is always right”.