US President Donald Trump has unexpectedly cancelled his highly anticipated trip to India later this year, underscoring growing tensions in US-India relations, just as India deepens its diplomatic engagement with China and Russia at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin.
By contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India in December, his aide confirmed last month — a signal of Moscow’s steady ties with New Delhi even as Washington pulls back.
“After telling Mr Modi that he would travel to India later this year for the Quad summit, Mr Trump no longer has plans to visit in the fall,” quoting “people familiar with the president’s schedule,” The New York Times said in a report headlined ‘The Nobel Prize and a Testy Phone Call: How the Trump-Modi Relationship Unraveled’, published over the weekend.
The Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is a multilateral security framework comprising the US, Australia, India, and Japan, widely seen as a bloc aimed at containing China’s rise. The group serves as a strategic platform focusing on Indo-Pacific regional security.
The Quad Summit, set to be hosted by India in New Delhi this November, now faces uncertainty following Trump’s decision to skip the event.
The White House has not issued an official statement on the Times report.
According to the NYT, one of the main sources of friction between the US and India stems from Trump’s claim, during a contentious phone call with Modi back in June, that he brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan during their military confrontation in May.
Trump has repeatedly maintained that he was responsible for halting the conflict, leveraging trade pressure on both sides to reach a resolution.
However, India has firmly rejected this narrative, asserting that the ceasefire was the result of direct negotiations between New Delhi and Islamabad, with no external mediation.
Pakistan, on the other hand, nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to de-escalate tensions between nuclear-armed rivals.
The report notes Trump’s broader ambition for recognition of his role in global diplomacy, including a push for a Nobel Peace Prize to acknowledge his peace efforts worldwide.
Trump also imposed a 50 percent tariff on certain Indian goods, citing India's continued purchase of Russian oil as a factor undermining Western sanctions on Moscow.
In response, Modi has emphasised India's commitment to economic self-reliance and domestic manufacturing, urging citizens to prioritise locally made products.
India's outreach to China and Russia
Amid these tensions, India has sought to strengthen its ties with China and Russia, both of whom are influential members of the SCO.
At the Tianjin summit, Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping engaged in constructive dialogue, with Xi emphasising the need for cooperation between the "dragon and elephant" to foster regional stability.
Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to improving relations with China, focusing on expanding trade, investment and addressing regional issues collaboratively.
Simultaneously, Modi and Putin reaffirmed close bilateral ties, underscoring trust and cooperation despite Washington’s tariff pressure on New Delhi.
India has maintained a strategic partnership with Russia, emphasising defence cooperation and economic collaboration.
Despite challenges in defence trade and supply chains, India continues to engage with Russia, aiming to balance its relationships with both Western and non-Western powers.
Modi is visiting China for the first time in seven years to attend the two-day SCO summit, which has also drawn leaders from Türkiye, Iran, Pakistan, the Middle East, and other Asian nations.
The gathering is seen as a strong display of Global South alignment.
