New Delhi: India has chosen not to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that New Delhi has “lost out” by aligning with Moscow and Beijing, though it has strongly rejected separate allegations made by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro regarding its energy and defence relations with Russia.
Trump’s comments came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Posting a photo of the three leaders together on social media, Trump wrote, “We feel like we’ve lost India and Russia. May they have a long, prosperous future.”
When asked for a response, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India would not comment on the President’s post. However, Trump later appeared to soften his stance, clarifying that the U.S. had not in fact “lost” India and emphasising his personal friendship with Prime Minister Modi. He described the India–U.S. partnership as “very special” but reiterated his frustration over India’s continued purchase of Russian oil and confirmed that high tariffs on Indian imports would remain in place.
Meanwhile, Peter Navarro launched a sharper attack, alleging that India has become “the Kremlin’s oil money transfer hub”. He accused India of buying discounted Russian crude oil, refining it, and reselling it globally—thus helping to finance Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Navarro went so far as to describe the conflict as “Modi’s war”. He also criticised India for purchasing Russian military equipment while simultaneously seeking advanced U.S. defence technology, calling the practice “strategic freeloading”.
India rejected these accusations outright. Spokesperson Jaiswal dismissed Navarro’s claims as “inaccurate and misleading”, asserting that India’s energy and defence policies are guided solely by national interest and energy security. He stressed that India’s oil imports from Russia, which began in 2022, are driven by economic necessity and are “not directed against any third country.”
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