Trump claims Modi said he was unhappy with China border situation

NEW DELHI: Even as US President Donald Trump claims that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he was unhappy with the “border conflict” with China, Indian government sources pointed out that their last contact had been before the first clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh, foreign media reported on Saturday.

At a briefing with reporters in Washington, Trump doubled down on his offer to mediate between the India and China – and went even further.

“THE PRESIDENT: They have a big conflict going with India and China. Two countries with 1.4 billion people. Two countries with very powerful militaries. And India is not happy, and probably China is not happy. But I can tell you, I did speak to Prime Minister Modi. He’s not — he’s not in a good mood about what’s going on with China.” [White House transcript] Trump reiterated that he was willing to mediate between India and China. “I would do that. You know, I would do that. If they – if they thought it would help if I were the mediator or the arbiter, I would do that. So, we’ll see.”

Through his Twitter account, Trump claimed on Wednesday that US had informed India and China that it was “ready, able and willing” to arbitrate between India and China’s border conflict. On Thursday, India responded with a single-line statement. “We are engaged with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve this issue,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.

Indian government sources denied the president’s claim. “There has been no recent contact between PM Modi and President Trump.