NEW DELHI – According to sources who know Trump’s itinerary, The New York Times reported on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump “no longer has plans” to go to India later this year for the Quad summit. There has been no official response from either the U.S. or Indian government, but the assertion comes at a time when tensions between Washington and Delhi are rising, as The New York Times has reported in detail.
Media report “The Nobel Prize and a Testy Phone Call: How the Trump-Modi Relationship Unraveled” tells the story of how the two leaders’ connection soured, which was previously a strong point of the bilateral relationship. The story says that Trump’s frequent public statements that he “solved” the four-day crisis between India and Pakistan that broke out in May have been a major subject of disagreement. India has always denied any U.S. involvement, saying that the de-escalation was due to direct talks between the two countries’ armed forces, which Pakistan asked for.
The story talks about a contentious 35-minute phone discussion between Trump and Modi on June 17, while Trump was on his way back from the G7 summit in Canada. Trump is said to have taken credit for stopping the military buildup again during the phone and said that Pakistan was going to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. People who know about the call say that the “not-so-subtle implication” was that Modi should do the same.
The Indian chief “bristled” at the idea and “firmly stated that U.S. involvement had nothing to do with the recent ceasefire.” He repeated India’s long-held view that it “does not and will never accept mediation” on its problems with Pakistan. The New York Times says that this dispute, especially Modi’s refusal to talk about the Nobel Prize problem, has had a “huge impact” on the relationship getting worse.
The paper also links the diplomatic problems to the Trump administration’s recent economic policies. Trump has put a 50% duty on a lot of Indian imports, including a new 25% tariff on Indian purchases of Russian oil. This seems like a way to “punish” India for not following the rules. Richard Rossow, who is in charge of India at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is quoted in the article as saying that the fact that India is the only country being targeted by these tariffs shows that the initiative is “about more than just Russia.”
The story says that Trump tried to get in touch with Modi numerous times because he was “frustrated by the tariff negotiations,” but the Indian Prime Minister “did not respond to those requests.” This shows that their personal and diplomatic relationships are falling apart.