New Delhi: During his visit to the United Kingdom on Thursday (September 18) US President Donald Trump said he is “very close” to India and shares a strong personal rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he had called earlier this week a day before his 75^th birthday.

Trump also once again reiterated his claim of 'intervening and settling' the standoff between India and Pakistan earlier this year.

““I'm very close to India. I'm very close to the Prime Minister of India. I spoke to him the other day to wish him a Happy Birthday. We have a very good relationship, and he put out a beautiful statement too,” said Trump in response to a question about his plans on dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reported Press Trust of India.

However, referring to whopping 50% tariff imposed on India, including a 25% tariff for India’s purchase of Russian crude oil, Trump added, “But I sanctioned them.”

Trump, who was addressing a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, the British PM's countryside residence, said Putin had been his “biggest disappointment" over the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

“Very simply, if the price of oil comes down, Putin is going to drop out. He's going to have no choice. He's going to drop out of that war,” said Trump.

“China is paying a very large tariff right now to the United States, but I'm willing to do other things, but not when the people that I'm fighting for are buying oil from Russia. If the oil price comes down, very simply, Russia will settle; and the oil price is way down, we got it way down,” he claimed.

Trump once again claimed during the press conference that he used trade as a strategy to defuse the escalating hostilities between India and Pakistan at the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.

“We did seven (conflicts) and most of them were not thought to be settleable. We did India, and we did Pakistan. That's two nuclear (countries). That was purely for trade. You [India and Pakistan] want to trade with us, you're going to have to get along. And they [India and Pakistan] were going at it hot and heavy,” said Trump, reported PTI.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention and has maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.

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