PM Modi and Prez Trump hold "first one-on-one meeting since Operation Sindoor" in May 2025 ::::: "If Modi is the leader and India is attacked, we will help them," says Trump

 No hugging this time ... Was this deliberate ???

"If Modi is the leader and India is attacked, we will be there to help them," US president Donald Trump said with a chuckle.

In their first meeting in 16 months at the French commune of Evian-les-Bains, Trump described his conversation with Narendra Modi as "very good" and signaled continued strategic cooperation between Washington and New Delhi.  

"India and the US have a great relationship. We cannot be closer. Both he and I, and our nations. It really starts with the two of us. We cannot be any closer," the US President said.

The meeting assumed significance as it came amid efforts by New Delhi and Washington to reset ties strained by tariff disputes, disagreements over Trump's claims of mediating the India-Pakistan conflict, tighter US immigration measures on Indians, and the recent deaths of three Indian sailors in American military strikes near Oman.

Addressing reporters during the talks, Trump described his meeting with PM Modi as "very good" and underscored the closeness of the bilateral relationship.  

Trump's remarks came after India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Under the operation, Indian forces carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

The military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours lasted nearly 88 hours before both sides reached an understanding on May 10 to halt hostilities.

India has repeatedly maintained that the ceasefire understanding was made between New Delhi and Islamabad and not by Donald Trump. 

Modi's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had said in 2025 -- "US was in the US" -- meaning there was no scope for any third party intervention between India and Pakistan especially on matters directly and indirectly linked to Jammu and Kashmir.