We've lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China, says Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday quipped that America had “lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China,” and wished the troika 'a prosperous future'.

The remark follows the now concluded Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, where images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin were widely circulated, which fuelled global commentary about shifting alignments amid US tariff turmoil.

"Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!" the US President said on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Responding to a media query on US President Donald Trump’s latest post, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said he has no comments to offer. However, he noted that relationship between India and US is important for New Delhi.

The Tianjin summit, which ended on Sept 1, showcased rare warmth between India, Russia and China. Modi shook hands with Xi and rode in the same limo as Putin, projecting India’s strategic independence and signaling its autonomy amid Trump's criticism of purchasing Russian crude.

Donald Trump has been making scathing remarks using social media to call the US-India relationship “totally one sided” and accusing New Delhi of imposing “the highest tariffs in the world.”

Also Read: S, C, O — PM Modi’s three-letter message at China summit that packs a punch

India has rejected the charges as “unjustified and unreasonable,” insisting that its energy and agricultural needs cannot be compromised.

The Trump administration has imposed reciprocal tariffs of 25% on Indian goods and an additional 25% levy on oil imports linked to Russia, raising duties to 50%— among the highest globally.

Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had also launched a sharp verbal attack on India, China and Russia, branding them “bad actors” for allegedly fueling Moscow’s war in Ukraine and dismissing the SCO summit in Tianjin as “largely performative.”

Bessent played down the significance of PM Modi’s meetings with Putin and Xi Jinping at the SCO summit.

“It happens every year for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It’s more of the same. And look, these are bad actors … India is fueling the Russian war machine, China is fueling the Russian war machine … I think at a point we and the allies are going to step up,” he said.