NEW DELHI, Oct 22: US President Donald Trump spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and greeted him on Diwali.
“Thank you, President Trump, for your phone call and warm Diwali greetings,” Modi said in a post on X on Wednesday.
“On this festival of lights, may our two great democracies continue to illuminate the world with hope and stand united against terrorism in all its forms,” the prime minister said.
In his initial remarks, President Trump wished the people of India a happy Diwali and said he “had a great conversation” with his “great friend” Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I just spoke to your prime minister today. Had a great conversation. We talked about trade…He’s very interested in that,” Trump said, adding, “Although we did talk a little while ago about ‘let’s have no wars with Pakistan.’ The fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about that.”
Trump said that India’s decision to stop buying oil from Russia would help bring peace to war-torn Ukraine, as he claimed Moscow uses oil revenue to fuel its war machinery. “We talked about a lot of things, but mostly the world of trade,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
US President has recently targeted India for its Russian oil purchases, imposing additional 25% tariffs on Indian exports to the US, making a cumulative tariff on Indian goods to 50% in order to discourage New Delhi’s crude buying as he seeks to pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine. (Agencies)
