Trump claims US has ‘lost’ India & Russia to China

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has made startling claims about a new global alignment, saying Washington has “lost” India and Russia to China.

Trump’s comments come days after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, where a stunning photo of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping together sparked a storm of speculation about a shift in power blocs.

The clicks, showing Modi and Putin laughing with Xi at their side, are being pushed by some as a sign of a growing anti-Western axis.

“It seems we have lost India and Russia to the darkest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” Trump wrote, sparking heated debate in Washington and beyond.

The statement comes at a time when US-India relations are strained. Trump recently imposed a massive 50 percent tariff on Indian imports, citing New Delhi’s oil trade with Moscow. India has called the move “unfair” and warned that it could damage economic ties.

Yet the official response in New Delhi has been measured. Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal declined to comment directly on Trump’s outburst but stressed that the US-India partnership is “very important” and rooted in “shared democratic values, shared interests and strong people-to-people connections.”

He added that the relationship has endured “transitions and challenges” before and will continue to move forward “on the basis of mutual respect and shared interests.”