Washington, Jan 6 — US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “not that happy with me” due to the tariffs imposed by Washington, which he linked to India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Speaking at the House GOP Member Retreat, Trump said he nonetheless shared a good personal equation with the Indian leader. “I have a very good relationship with him. He’s not that happy with me because, you know, they’re paying a lot of tariffs now,” Trump said.
He claimed the tariffs were imposed because India continued buying oil from Russia, though he added that New Delhi had reduced such purchases. “They’re not doing the oil, but they are — they’ve now reduced it very substantially, as you know, from Russia,” he said.
Trump has imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on India, including a 25 per cent levy tied specifically to its Russian oil imports.
Recounting a meeting with Modi, Trump said, “Prime Minister Modi came to see me — ‘Sir, may I see you please?’ Yes.”
The US president also said India had raised concerns about delays in defence supplies, claiming New Delhi told him it had been waiting for five years for Apache attack helicopters.
Trump did not provide further details on timelines or whether the issue had been resolved.
