Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, China, on Monday in a high-on-optics engagement that included Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The scene in eastern China, without doubt intended for an audience on the other side of the world, and the seeming signalling of the possible resurrection of the Russia-India-China trilateral appeared to have hit home. Within hours, US President Donald Trump had his guns trained on India, calling American trade with the country a “totally one-sided disaster” and cautioning that time was running out.
Ahead of their scheduled bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit, Modi and Putin walked hand-in-hand into a meeting hall filled with other world leaders. They headed straight for Xi, shook hands and formed a close circle. A few words were exchanged before translators joined the huddle. Putin cracked a broad smile, and Modi let out a big laugh. At one point, Modi joined hands with the two leaders. Later, Modi and Putin travelled for their delegation-level engagement in the Russian President’s car.
By evening, Trump had taken to social media with his stinging message that went against the grain of the overture extended by the US embassy in New Delhi earlier in the day where it sought to talk up the bilateral partnership as “a defining relationship of the 21st century”.
In a long post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest ‘client’, but we sell them very little — Until now a totally one-sided relationship, and it has been for many decades.”
Trump’s post also said: “The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high Tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India. It has been a totally one-sided disaster! Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the US. They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago. Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!”
Earlier in the day, as the Modi-Putin meeting was going on, the US embassy in New Delhi said in a post on X: “The partnership between the United States and India continues to reach new heights — a defining relationship of the 21st century. This month, we’re spotlighting the people, progress and possibilities driving us forward. From innovation and entrepreneurship to defence and bilateral ties, it’s the enduring friendship between our two peoples that fuels this journey...”
Russian President Putin shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin
While the Kremlin readout on the Putin-Modi meeting did not throw light on what was discussed vis-à-vis Ukraine and related issues, the Russian President told SCO leaders that a Ukrainian settlement can be sustainable and lasting only if the root causes of the crisis are addressed, and “a fair balance in the sphere of security must be restored”.
He was referring to the West’s “constant efforts” to draw Ukraine into Nato — something Moscow views as a “direct threat to Russia’s security”.
Putin reminded the SCO that “this crisis did not arise from Russia attacking Ukraine, but from a coup d’etat in Ukraine, supported and provoked by the West, followed by attempts to use military force to suppress the regions and people of Ukraine who rejected and did not accept that coup”.
Stating that Russia highly values the efforts and proposals of China, India and other strategic partners aimed at facilitating a settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, Putin added: “I would note that the understandings reached at the recent Russian-US summit in Alaska, I hope, are also moving in this direction, paving the way towards peace in Ukraine.”
In the bilateral meeting, Modi referred to the regular discussions between India and Russia on Ukraine and welcomed all the efforts towards establishing peace. “We hope that all parties shall proceed constructively. A way must be found to end this conflict and establish lasting peace. This is the aspiration of the entire humanity,”he said.
The external affairs ministry readout on the meeting said the two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation, including in the economic, financial and energy sectors, and expressed satisfaction with the sustained growth in ties in these areas. There was no mention of the secondary sanctions imposed by the US on Indian exports as penalty for buying Russian oil, but this was bound to have been discussed given how Washington is arm-twisting New Delhi to stop this purchase on the premise that it fuels Putin’s war against Ukraine.