“At no point has Prime Minister Modi spoken with President Putin in the manner suggested. No such conversation has taken place,” MEA Randhir Jaiswal said. Screengrab: PTI
India on Friday (September 26, 2025) described as “factually incorrect and entirely baseless” the remarks by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s penalty tariff on India for its continued purchase of Russian crude oil.
“We expect the leadership of an important institution like NATO to exercise greater responsibility and accuracy in public statements. Speculative or careless remarks that misrepresent the Prime Minister’s engagements or suggest conversations that never occurred are unacceptable,” said Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday (September 25, 2025) in New York, Mr. Rutte had said, “This (tariff) immediately impacts Russia because that means Delhi is now on the phone with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and Narendra Modi is asking him, ‘I support you, but again could you explain to me this strategy because I have now been hit by these 50% tariffs by the United States’.”
Mr. Jaiswal reiterated that India was committed to “ensure predictable and affordable energy costs” to the Indian consumers and that India will take all “necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security”.
Addressing the weekly press briefing on Friday (September 26, 2025), Mr. Jaiswal also gave details of the discussion held in New York between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on September 22, where India-U.S. bilateral trade and increase in tariffs by the United States had been the “focus”. The Indian side was in contact with the U.S. administration over the sharp hike in H-1B visa fees amounting to $100,000 per visa application, he added.
“External Affairs Minister and U.S. Secretary of State met on the sidelines of UNGA on 22 September 2025. They were joined by the Commerce and Industry Minister (Piyush Goyal) and U.S. Trade Representative (Jamieson Greer), as also officials on both sides. The focus of the discussion was on trade and tariffs. Other aspects of our bilateral relationship were also reviewed,” said Mr. Jaiswal, elaborating on the talks held in a New York hotel, days after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation hiking the H-1B visa fees.
Mr. Jaishankar’s meeting with Mr. Rubio was one of the several meetings that he held in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual session.
Published – September 26, 2025 10:27 pm IST
