NYT reports Trump tried to speak to Modi over call ‘several times’; Indian PM refused

Days after a German newspaper claimed that United States President Donald Trump had tried to talk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over phone at least four times over the past few weeks, leading American newspaper The New York Times has also reported about similar attempts being made by Washington to reach out to New Delhi.

German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) this week reported that Indian PM Modi has refused to talk to US President Trump despite him making at least four such attempts.

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The New York Times has followed it up with a detailed report on Saturday claiming that while Modi and Trump last spoke on June 17, the US leader did try to reach out to the Indian PM “several times” amid the ongoing dispute over lingering bilateral trade talks and the imposition of reciprocal and punitive tariffs on India by the US.

Citing unnamed officials, the NYT said PM Modi declined to respond to requests by the Trump administration for phone calls between the two leaders. Officially, the White House has denied that Trump had tried to speak to Modi.

Also Read: PM Modi Arrives in China for SCO Summit, to Meet President Xi Jinping

The ties between India and the US have plummeted ever since Trump repeatedly started taking credit for the ceasefire announced between India and Pakistan following the military conflict in May post the April Kashmir (Pahalgam) terror attack. Trump jumped the gun, announced on Truth Social and claimed credit for the ceasefire. India flatly denied. New Delhi had also refuted a claim by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that India had agreed to hold talks with Pakistan at a neutral venue. The Modi government reiterated that India has never accepted mediation in its decades-old dispute with the western neighbour.

During the June 17 phone call, which proved to be the last between Modi and Trump till date, the US leader indirectly tried to also suggest that the Indian PM should nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize for “ending” the military conflict, like Pakistan had done.

According to the NYT report, PM Modi clearly told Trump during that call that there was no US role in the pause in the conflict and that the issue was settled directly by India and Pakistan.

Just weeks after the June 17 phone call, Trump amid the dragging trade talks, announced the imposition of 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods and followed it up with the announcement of another 25 per cent tariffs as a “penalty” for India buying Russian oil. Both the measures are now in force and India will be paying a whopping 50 per cent tariffs on most of its exports to the US.

The NYT report further stated that one of the reasons why Indian officials have refused to set up a call between Trump and Modi is that the US President would later go on social media and post anything to his liking, regardless of what would be agreed to or spoken during the call.

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