Donald Trump on Friday triggered a row after he claimed that the US lost India and Russia to "deepest, darkest China" amid tensions with the three nations over tariffs and the Ukraine war. The remarks come in the backdrop of the SCO Summit in China's Tianjin, where Indian PM Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and and Chinese President Xi Jinping held key talks.
"Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together! President Donald J. Trump," he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Even more interesting was that the US president paired his remarks on social media with an undated picture of PM Modi, Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping walking side by side.
India's response
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reacted to Trump's latest remarks about India, Russia and China. During a press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaishwal said, "I have no comments to offer" on the subject.
The rise of Global South
The statement followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meetings with both Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit, the largest gathering in the bloc’s history. The summit, hosted by China, brought together 10 member states and 20 invited leaders, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. In his opening address, Xi Jinping urged the SCO to “safeguard regional peace and stability” and to "unite the strength of the Global South."
Relations between New Delhi and Washington have worsened after Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent, along with an additional 25 per cent duty on India’s imports of Russian crude oil.
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