US President Donald Trump “no longer has plans” to visit India later this year for the Quad Summit, The New York Times reported Saturday, citing sources familiar with his schedule.
Titled ‘The Nobel Prize and a Testy Phone Call: How the Trump-Modi Relationship Unraveled’, the report says Trump had previously told Modi he would travel to India in the fall but has since abandoned those plans.
There has been no official response from either the US or Indian governments regarding the claims. India is slated to host the Quad summit later this year. Earlier, the Trump administration held the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in January, a day after Trump began his second presidential term.
Amid ongoing trade tensions, the article details how ties between Trump and Modi began to sour, particularly following Trump’s repeated and controversial claims that he helped resolve a four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan in May — assertions India has consistently denied.
“President Trump’s repeated claims about having ‘solved’ the India-Pakistan war infuriated Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. And that was only the beginning,” the report states, adding that Modi was “losing patience” with Trump.
Trump and Modi had a 35-minute phone call on June 17, as Trump flew back to Washington from the G7 Summit in Canada, where Modi was also in attendance. Though a face-to-face meeting had been planned on the summit’s sidelines in Kananaskis, Trump left early. Before departing, Modi spoke to Trump over the phone.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a video message from Kananaskis that Modi had made it clear to Trump there was no discussion of a US-India trade deal or any US mediation proposal concerning the India-Pakistan conflict. Misri said the ceasefire talks occurred directly between Indian and Pakistani armed forces through existing military channels and had been initiated by Pakistan.
Prime Minister Modi firmly told Trump that India does not and will never accept any mediation in its conflict with Pakistan, Misri said.
According to the NYT, during the June 17 call, Trump once again claimed credit for ending the escalation and mentioned that Pakistan planned to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize — an award previously won by former President Barack Obama and one that Trump has been openly campaigning for.
“The not-so-subtle implication, according to people familiar with the call, was that Mr Modi should do the same,” the NYT said.
“The Indian leader bristled. He told Mr Trump that US involvement had nothing to do with the recent ceasefire. It had been settled directly between India and Pakistan,” the article reports.
While Trump appeared to dismiss Modi’s objection, the disagreement and Modi’s refusal to support Trump’s Nobel ambitions played a significant role in straining their relationship, which had once been strong during Trump’s first term, the NYT stated.
The report noted that the White House never publicly acknowledged the June 17 call and Trump did not mention it on social media. Since May 10, Trump has publicly claimed over 40 times that he was responsible for ending the India-Pakistan conflict.
“And it is also the tale of an American president with his eye on a Nobel Prize, running smack into the immovable third rail of Indian politics: the conflict with Pakistan,” the report added.
The report also pointed to Trump’s decision to impose a 25 percent tariff on India for purchasing Russian oil, suggesting the move was punitive rather than policy-driven.
“The colossal penalties on India in particular appear to be punishment for not falling in line rather than any kind of cohesive effort to reduce the trade deficit or cut off funding for” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, the report said.
Richard Rossow, chair on India at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, was quoted saying the issue was “about more than just Russia.”
“If this was a real change in policy in trying to squeeze Russia, Trump could have put his weight behind legislation that would have imposed secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian hydrocarbons. The fact that they have uniquely targeted India says this is about more than just Russia,” Rossow said.
The NYT added that as Trump became increasingly frustrated with the stalled tariff negotiations, he attempted to contact Modi multiple times, but the Indian prime minister did not respond.
– Ends
With inputs from agencies
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