India’s Foreign Minister Jaishankar Openly Calls Out the US
On September 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump, which Modi described as productive and said covered trade, defence, energy and critical technologies. Ten days earlier, Trump signed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, giving the US president authority to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on countries that continue to purchase Russian oil and gas, with India among the largest buyers of Russian energy. During External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s visit to the US, he said at the Asia Society in New York that Washington lacked understanding, appreciation or empathy for Delhi on sensitive issues, referring to its courting of Pakistan despite support for anti-India terrorism.
Why it matters: The shift matters for geoeconomics because US sanctions authority over Russian oil purchases and India’s public airing of grievances bear on energy security and trade ties.