India rejects Navarro’s remarks on PM Modi’s meetings with Xi and Putin: MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday rejected remarks made by White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro, a top aide to US President Donald Trump, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cordial meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Addressing a briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “India firmly rejects the inaccurate and misleading statements made by Mr. Navarro.”

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Navarro had sharply criticized PM Modi’s camaraderie with Xi and Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, describing it as a “shame” for the leader of the world’s largest democracy to be “getting in bed” with the “two biggest authoritarians.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. I’m not sure what he’s thinking, particularly since India has been in a cold war – and sometimes a hot war – with China for decades,” Navarro told reporters on Monday.

Modi, who visited China after seven years to attend the SCO Summit, met with Xi and Putin in what many observers see as a show of Global South solidarity against Trump’s trade policies.

Navarro further said the US hoped Modi would “come around” to support the US, Europe, and Ukraine.

PM Modi, Putin, and Xi were seen sharing laughter and bonhomie during the SCO Summit in Tianjin, with their informal conversation before the family photo widely interpreted as a message to Trump about the emergence of a new world order amid his “bullying” behavior.

Later, Modi and Putin traveled together to the venue of their bilateral meeting. Russian media reported that the two leaders held a private discussion inside Putin’s car for about 50 minutes. While details of the conversation remain unclear, speculation suggests Modi may have conveyed a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had called him a day earlier.

On Sunday, Modi also held a bilateral meeting with Xi, where the two leaders agreed to advance India-China cooperation for the welfare of their peoples