Trump now says India, US have special relationship; Modi appreciates

By Sunil Kumar Batra

New Delhi, Sep 6 (BVI) After weeks of browbeating India, US President Donald Trump today said the two countries “have a special relationship” and “There is nothing to worry about”, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “appreciate” and “reciprocate” the sentiments.

         Speaking to journalists in Washington, he said he “will always be friends with Modi, a great Prime Minister,” and added, “I get along very well with Modi”.

Trump’s friendly overture came just hours after his unfriendly social media post: “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to the deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together.”

The relations between the two countries have been going through a bad phase over the last few weeks after Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports because India buys oil from Russia.

When asked by journalists about his yesterday’s social media post, Trump said, “I will always be friends with Modi. He is a great Prime Minister. India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about.”

When specifically asked about his view in this social post that “we’ve lost India”, Trump responded, “I don’t think we have. I get along very well with Modi. As you know, he was here a couple of months ago, we went to the Rose Garden.”

Hours later, Modi responded by appreciating and reciprocating Trump’s sentiments.

“Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties. India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership,” Modi said in a post on his social media handle “X” (formerly known as Twitter). (BVI)