India had asked the US to keep questions off the agenda at the press interaction following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France,
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor has said.
According to Gor, Trump had initially agreed to New Delhi’s request but later appeared to forget about it and invited questions from journalists. The move turned what was expected to be a brief media interaction into a 45-minute press conference with PM Modi seated beside him.
The ambassador made the remarks at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum on Saturday while recalling his conversation with Trump before the June 17 meeting in Evian-les-Bains, France.
Gor said he and Trump were speaking privately before the meeting when the US President asked what issues India was likely to raise.
“We were behind the scenes, behind the stage, and at one point it was just the president and I, and he asked me, he goes, what the Indians are going to raise. We went over some topics,” Gor said.
Trump then asked whether India had any specific requests, Gor recalled.
“And he said, do they have any asks? And the MEA had one ask. He said, and it was, let’s bring in the media, but let’s not do a full press conference,” the ambassador added.
Gor said he conveyed the request to Trump, who agreed to it.
“I told the president, I said, the Indians prefer no questions. He said, sure, no problem,” Gor recalled.
The meeting began with journalists and cameras in the room. Gor said around 50 cameras were present as Modi and Trump took their seats and delivered their opening remarks.
“So the meeting starts, the press comes in, there must have been 50 cameras, the president is sitting here, the prime minister is sitting there, they both speak for a few minutes,” he said.
However, Trump then turned towards the journalists and asked, “Any questions?”
Gor said Trump’s invitation changed the nature of the interaction.
“And that opened everything up,” the ambassador said, describing the session that followed as “a 45-minute press conference” where “everything was on the table”.
The Indian government has not officially commented on Gor’s remarks about New Delhi’s request to avoid questions.
What PM Modi and Trump Discussed
PM Modi and Trump met on June 17 on the sidelines of the G7 summit in eastern France, days after three Indian mariners were killed in an attack by the US Navy on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
The safety of Indian seafarers operating in the conflict zone was among the issues PM Modi raised with Trump.
“Many Indian seafarers in the Strait of Hormuz; their safety is of the utmost importance,” the Prime Minister told Trump. The US President, however, played down the risks involved in seafaring, calling it a “rough profession”.
The two leaders also discussed developments around the Strait of Hormuz and India-US trade ties.
Trump assured that the US would support India if another country attacked it. Pointing towards PM Modi, he said, “If anybody attacks that man, we’re gonna be there. Now, if there’s a new leader, I’m not sure.”
The June meeting came at a time when India and the US were working towards a bilateral trade agreement, while tensions in West Asia were disrupting shipping and affecting energy supplies.
Trump also said the two countries were “very close” to reaching a trade deal.
