India on Friday reacted strongly to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the issue of tariffs imposed by the United States, terming the statement as “factually incorrect” and “entirely baseless”.
“We have seen the statement by NATO Secretary-General Mr. Mark Rutte regarding a purported phone conversation between Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. This statement is factually incorrect and entirely baseless. At no point has Prime Minister Modi spoken with President Putin in the manner suggested. No such conversation has taken place,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Friday.We expect the leadership of an important and esteemed institution like NATO to exercise greater responsibility and accuracy in public statements. Speculative or careless remarks that misrepresent the Prime Minister’s engagements or suggest conversations that never occurred are unacceptable,” he added.Rutte, while speaking to CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit in New York, had claimed that the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on India over Russian oil imports are having a major impact on Moscow.We expect the leadership of an important and esteemed institution like NATO to exercise greater responsibility and accuracy in public statements. Speculative or careless remarks that misrepresent the Prime Minister’s engagements or suggest conversations that never occurred are unacceptable,” he added
