'Modi a great man', says Trump on outcome of envoy-designate Sergio Gor's meeting with Indian PM

PM Modi with US President Donald Trump

During a joint media interaction in the Oval Office with FBI Director Kash Patel, US President Donald Trump spoke about his envoy-designate Sergio Gor’s recent talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling the PM a "great man."

In response to ANI’s question about Gor’s meeting in New Delhi, Trump said, "I think they were great... Modi is a great man. He (Sergio Gor) told me that he (PM Modi) loves Trump."

The US President pointed out that his ties with PM Modi remain strong and went on to reflect on India’s political developments over the years. He said, "I have watched India for years. It's an incredible country and every single year you would have a new leader. Some would be in there for a few months and this was year after year after year and my friend has been there now for a long time."

Trump also linked India’s growing coordination with Washington to global energy concerns.

According to him, PM Modi had conveyed that India would phase out purchases of Russian crude. "He's assured me there will be no oil purchases from Russia... He's not buying his oil from Russia... He can't do it immediately. It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon," Trump said.

He added that such a move would contribute to efforts aimed at ending the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kyiv.

"All we want from President Putin is to stop this, stop killing Ukrainians and stop killing Russians because he's killing a lot of Russians," Trump said, noting that the strained relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains a "major obstacle."

The US President also said, "I think we'll get them. If India doesn't buy oil, it makes it much easier... They will not be buying oil from Russia, and they'll go back to Russia after the war is over."

Although the briefing was mainly dedicated to the administration’s measures against violent crime in the United States, Trump used the occasion to highlight what he sees as expanding cooperation between Washington and New Delhi, along with his continuing association with PM Modi.

With inputs from ANI