Trump-Modi: The US President praises the PM, again; may visit India next year
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Thursday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, once again, calling him a “great man” and hinting that he could visit India next year, the media reported on Friday.
“He’s a friend of mine, and we speak, and he wants me to go there, and we’ll figure that out, I’ll go.”
His remarks came amid efforts by New Delhi and Washington to secure a trade deal following a series of tariff disputes that strained bilateral ties this year. Half a dozen rounds of bilateral trade and tariff negotiations have already taken place.
While Trump did not specify a timeline for his likely trip, he noted that the visit “could be” next year.
Commenting on the ongoing trade negotiations, he said the talks were “going good.”
He also claimed that PM Modi had reduced India’s oil imports from Russia, and said, “It’s great, going good. He stopped… largely, he stopped buying oil from Russia.”
In April 2025, Trump imposed a “Liberation Day” tariff on India and over 100 other countries but paused it for 90 days, offering affected nations time to strike new deals with the US. While the two democracies failed to finalise a deal within that window, Trump later announced a 25 percent tariff on India, with an additional 25 percent as ‘penalty’ for its Russian oil imports.
The US President repeatedly said these measures were intended to discourage India’s purchase of Russian crude, which he argued fuels Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. New Delhi has defended its purchases, citing energy security needs, and has not confirmed Trump’s claims of reduced dependence on Russian oil.
Meanwhile, India is set to host leaders from Australia, Japan, and the US for the Quad Summit in New Delhi. However, the dates for the 2025 Summit are yet to be announced.
Taking credit for ceasefire, Trump also reiterated having “stopped the India-Pakistan conflict” in May 2025 during Operation Sindoor. “Of the eight wars I ended, I would say five or six ended because of tariffs. I’ll give you an example. If you take a look at India and Pakistan, they started to fight; they are two nuclear nations… They were shooting at each other.”
Trump added he warned both countries he would impose tariffs if their hostilities continued. “Within 24 hours, I settled the war,” he claimed.
Earlier, he claimed, without specifying, that “three or four” fighter aircraft were lost during the Operation. Then he revised the figure to four or five, five or six, six or seven, and added an eighth on Thursday!
While Pakistan has publicly thanked the US President for his “intervention,” and even nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize, India has consistently denied any third-party mediation, asserting that it had only paused Operation Sindoor after a request from the DGMO of Pakistan Army to his Indian counterpart in May 2025, and also that military action could resume if Islamabad sent its terrorists again to attack India.
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