Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
India had specifically asked the US to avoid a full-fledged press conference during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor has claimed. Trump initially agreed to the request, but he apparently forgot about the arrangement and invited reporters to ask questions, turning the interaction into a 45-minute media session with PM Modi sitting beside him, Gor said.
advertisement
The PM Modi-Trump meeting took place on June 17 on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains in France.
“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, recalling his conversation with Trump before the meeting.
“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 at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum.
Gor said he then conveyed India’s preference directly to Trump.
“I told the president, I said, the Indians prefer no questions. He said, sure, no problem,” Gor recalled.
The meeting subsequently began with journalists and cameras present. Gor said there were around 50 cameras in the room as Modi and Trump sat across from each other 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.
But immediately after the opening remarks, Trump turned towards the cameras and asked reporters, “Any questions?”
Gor said the question effectively opened up the interaction.
“And that opened everything up,” the ambassador said, adding that what followed was “a 45-minute press conference” in which “everything was on the table”.
The government has not officially responded to Gor’s comments regarding New Delhi’s no-question request.
PM Modi’s meeting with Trump on June 17 on the sidelines of the G7 summit in eastern France came 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 raised by Modi during the interaction.
“Many Indian seafarers in the Strait of Hormuz, their safety is of the utmost importance,” the PM told Trump during the meeting. Trump, however, played down the risks associated with seafaring, describing it as a “rough profession”.
The two leaders also discussed the situation around the Strait of Hormuz and India-US trade relations.
Trump said the US would support India in the event of an attack by another country. Pointing towards 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 was significant as it came amid efforts by New Delhi and Washington to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement and as tensions in West Asia were affecting shipping and energy supplies. Trump also said the two countries were “very close” to reaching a trade deal.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
