KUALA LUMPUR; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Monday to advance trade discussions and reduce tensions following Washington’s recent tariff hikes on Indian goods.
While few details were made public, the meeting was significant as the highest-level contact between the two nations since the United States imposed sanctions last week on several Russian oil companies — a key source of India’s energy imports.
Jaishankar shared a photograph of the handshake on social media, saying he appreciated the “constructive discussion” on bilateral ties and regional as well as global developments.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Malaysia, attended by US President Donald Trump in person, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated via video link.
Relations between Washington and New Delhi have been tense since August, when President Trump raised tariffs on Indian imports to 50%, accusing India of indirectly funding Russia’s war in Ukraine by purchasing discounted Russian oil.
Trump told reporters last week that he had spoken with Modi by phone, claiming the Indian leader had agreed to reduce oil imports from Moscow. However, India has not confirmed such a conversation.
“If they don’t stop buying Russian oil, they’ll continue to pay massive tariffs,” Trump warned aboard Air Force One. Responding to India’s statement that no such call took place, Trump said, “If they want to deny it, they can keep paying the tariffs—they don’t want that.”
India has emerged as the world’s largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil since Western nations imposed sanctions on Moscow following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that it was unaware of any phone conversation between the two leaders but stressed that New Delhi’s primary objective remains to “safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer.”
