Overview

• MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal formally dismissed Navarro’s comments as inaccurate and misleading at a briefing in New Delhi.
• Navarro has attacked India’s purchases of Russian oil, calling the country an “oil money laundromat for Kremlin,” accusing “strategic freeloading,” and invoking caste in his remarks.
• The MEA underscored that India and the United States share a comprehensive, global strategic partnership grounded in shared interests, democratic values, and strong people-to-people ties.
• Navarro criticized Modi’s cordial interactions with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the SCO Summit in Tianjin, calling it a “shame” and saying he hoped Modi would “come around” to back the US, Europe, and Ukraine.
• India reiterated support for an early end to the war in Ukraine and welcomed recent efforts toward peace and normalization.