New Delhi, Sep 26: India has strongly rejected a remark by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about U.S. tariffs on India. Responding to media reports, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the claim 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 Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin. The 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. We expect the leadership of an important 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. As previously stated, India’s energy imports are meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs to the Indian consumer. India will continue taking all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” Jaiswal said.
The clarification came after Rutte, in an interview with journalist Christiane Amanpour, suggested that President Putin may be under pressure from India following fresh U.S. tariffs. While stressing that U.S. President Donald Trump had not imposed sanctions on Russia, Rutte argued that secondary actions—such as tariffs on India—could affect Moscow indirectly. However, NATO later clarified that Rutte’s comment was meant as a hypothetical example of indirect pressure on Russia, not as a description of any actual conversation between Modi and Putin.
