Trump Says India, Russia ‘Lost to Darkest China’; New Delhi Declines Comment

India on Friday declined to comment on US President Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting New Delhi was moving closer to Moscow and Beijing, even as it dismissed White House trade advisor Peter Navarro’s attack on India’s Russian oil imports as “inaccurate and misleading.”

Trump, who has doubled tariffs on Indian goods with a 25% levy citing New Delhi’s energy ties with Russia, took aim at India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin.

“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” Trump posted on social media, sharing a photo of Modi walking with Xi and Putin.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters: “I have no comments to offer on this post at this moment.” On Navarro’s charge that India was acting as an “oil money laundromat for the Kremlin,” Jaiswal said: “We have seen the inaccurate and misleading statements made by Mr Navarro and obviously reject them.”

Navarro, among the most vocal India critics in the Trump administration, has accused New Delhi of “strategic freeloading” by purchasing Russian crude and weapons while seeking advanced technologies from the US. He even described the Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war,” remarks that drew sharp disapproval in New Delhi.

India-US ties are experiencing their sharpest strains in two decades, largely over Trump’s tariff measures. New Delhi has called the additional levy on oil purchases “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” questioning why it was singled out while China buys larger volumes of Russian energy.

Despite the tensions, Indian officials said New Delhi’s response to Trump’s attacks has been measured, aimed at safeguarding a partnership that has taken years to build across defence, trade, and technology. Jaiswal reiterated that the focus must remain on the “substantive agenda” binding the two countries.

“This relationship between the US and India is very important for us,” he said, citing ongoing cooperation such as the Yudh Abhyas 2025 military exercise in Alaska, recent 2+2 virtual talks, and a Defence Policy Group meeting in New Delhi.

India has consistently defended its Russian energy imports, saying they are vital for energy security. Discounted crude supplies have pushed Russia’s share in India’s oil imports from 1.7% in 2019–20 to nearly 40% in 2024–25.