Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday responded positively to US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks, in which Trump reaffirmed his friendship with Modi even while expressing disapproval over an unspecified issue.

Modi said he “deeply appreciates and fully reciprocates” Trump’s sentiments and highlighted the enduring strength of the India-US relationship.

“India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking comprehensive and global strategic partnership,” Modi said in a post on X.

Trump had earlier said, “I will always be friends with Modi; he is a great prime minister, he is great… I just don’t like what he is doing at this particular moment, but India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about.”

While Trump did not elaborate on his specific concerns, his remarks appeared to reflect a broader commitment to maintaining strong bilateral ties regardless of occasional differences. This development appears in the backdrop of the most strained India-US ties in decades after Trump imposed tariffs as high as 50% on Indian imports and made remarks publicly to target the country.

Trump recently said that New Delhi and Moscow “have been lost” to China, just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Tianjin.

“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together,” Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social, while sharing an image of Modi, Xi and Putin.

The Indian foreign ministry had, however, said New Delhi is hopeful of an early end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “We welcome all recent efforts towards establishing peace in Ukraine. We hope that all parties will proceed constructively. India supports an early end to the conflict and the establishment of lasting peace,” the MEA spokesperson said.

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