India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar criticised US President Donald Trump’s unconventional diplomatic style, calling it a sharp break from established international practice, while firmly rejecting Washington’s claim of mediating in the recent India-Pakistan conflict.
Speaking in New Delhi, Jaishankar said no past American president had conducted diplomacy in such a public manner. He stressed that since the 1970s, India’s national consensus has been to reject third-party mediation in relations with Pakistan. While acknowledging that international outreach took place during the skirmish, he insisted that decisions were negotiated solely between India and Pakistan.
On trade, Jaishankar pushed back against Trump’s threats of steep new tariffs on Indian goods and defended New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil. He dismissed Washington’s accusation that India was profiteering by refining and re-exporting Russian crude, arguing that the criticism was misplaced coming from a pro-business administration. “If you don’t like it, don’t buy it,” he remarked, pointing out that both Europe and the US continued to purchase oil and refined products from India.
He further underscored that protecting farmers, safeguarding small producers, and maintaining strategic autonomy were non-negotiable for his government. Negotiations with Washington, he said, were ongoing despite the cancellation of a planned US delegation visit in August.
Jaishankar also rejected suggestions that India’s engagement with China was driven by friction with the US, calling such assumptions simplistic. In a pointed remark, he referenced America’s historical ties with Pakistan, saying Washington had often chosen to “overlook that history.”
His comments come amid escalating trade tensions, with Trump warning that duties on Indian exports could rise to as high as 50%, adding further pressure to an already strained relationship.
