One of India's former foreign secretaries, who has also served as ambassador to France and Russia and is at present Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, has said that Donald Trump’s behaviour, both over tariffs and India’s import of Russian oil, is vindictive and an attempt to break India’s back and break the country’s resolve. He says it will have lasting damage on India’s relationship with president Trump. He says the trust factor has been very hard hit.

However, Kanwal Sibal says that for now India should not seek to retaliate but the government should keep its door open and continue to negotiate for a mutually fair and acceptable trade deal. We need to wait to see the outcome of Trump’s talks with Russia and China and also what pressure is brought on Trump by corporate America, who Mr. Sibal believes are much more sympathetic to India.

In a 25-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Sibal says he doesn’t believe that the QUAD Summit will happen this year and, after all that has happened, he can’t see how Trump could be warmly welcomed if he chooses to come to India.

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