'Don't Think He Felt Comfortable': Trump Aide Navarro On PM Modi Sharing Stage With Xi At SCO

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Posted by AI on 2025-09-16 03:19:39 | Last Updated by AI on 2026-08-17 18:29:16

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An exclusive: President Trump's trade adviser and economist Peter Navarro has criticized India's leadership for appearing to "normalize" ties with Russia and China on the global stage, citing concerns over human rights and territorial disputes.

Speaking exclusively to an outlet, Navarro, an outspoken China critic, slammed New Delhi for Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharing the stage with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China.

"He looks like he is uncomfortable being on the stage with President Xi. I think it's an issue of territorial disputes, issues of human rights, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang, the South China Sea," said Navarro, adding that he thinks that Modi "doesn't want to have those issues on the agenda" during his term.

This comes as India has been increasingly diversifying its international relationships and strategically enhancing its ties with both China and Russia despite tensions on the LAC with China and Russian military action against Ukraine.

"Don't think he felt comfortable with the optics of being on the stage with Xi Jinping," Navarro said of Modi during the SCO summit, where the three leaders also held a trilateral meeting.

The rare tripartite meeting, which was held at the request of Putin and Modi, raised eyebrows over India's increasingly multifaceted foreign policy strategy despite its longstanding closeness with the Western bloc.

These comments from the influential Trump adviser could cause a stir in Washington and New Delhi, adding to the growing list of controversies around the already fraught bilateral relationship.

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