Shashi Tharoor urges caution on Trump's 'new tone' on India-US relations

Shashi Tharoor

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday pointed out that there were some serious repair work that was needed to be done by the governments and diplomats of India and the US in the aftermath of US' aggressive tariff measures.

Tharoor, reacting to US President Donald Trump's latest remark on India-US relationship on Saturday, he said he welcomes the "new tone" with a spirit of caution. He also stated that one could not forgive the hurt and offence caused by Trump so quickly, keeping in mind the consequences Indians faced.

"The Prime Minister was very quick to respond, and the Foreign Minister has also underscored the importance of the basic relationship that is a comprehensive global strategic partnership, which is still there. And that message is an important message for us to give... I think there's some serious repair work that needs to be done by governments and diplomats on both sides. I would welcome this new tone with a spirit of caution. One can't just forget and forgive so quickly because there are real consequences that Indians are facing on the ground and those consequences need to be overcome...," Tharoor told ANI.

"I don't think we can just completely forget either the 50 per cent tariffs or the insults that have accompanied it from both the President and his staff.... Mr Trump has a fairly mercurial temperament, and what he has been saying has caused some hurt and offence in our country. The 50 per cent tariffs have actually had consequences already..." he further added.

Earlier on Friday (local time), President Trump called the India-US ties a "very special relationship" and affirmed that he and PM Modi would always be friends, asserting that there is "nothing to worry about".

Trump's statement assumes importance as the recently concluded SCO summit in Tianjin generated lot of interest within the US administration and foreign policy experts were brisk in their reading that the trio -- India, China and the Russia held positive exchanges on the sidelines of the meeting, a development which is not very comforting for the Trump administration.

The US administration was keenly following the developments in Tianjin. This aspect can safely be deduced from the briskness of the response from the US Embassy in India. Moments after television channels flashed images of an informal meet involving PM Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the US Embassy in India shared an optimistic post on the enduring friendship between Washington and New Delhi and called it a defining relationship of the 21st century.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to respond to Trump's remark on Friday (US local time).  "Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump's sentiments and positive assessment of our ties. India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership," the Prime Minister said in a post on X.

This was PM Modi's first direct statement to the US President since Trump imposed crippling 50% tariffs on India over its purchase of Russian oil, the steepest imposed on any nation. Stalled negotiations for a trade deal over India's red lines on opening up its agriculture and dairy sectors added to the chill.

(With ANI inputs)