‘Not Modi’s style to negotiate by phone’: Report quotes diplomat as Trump phone call claims swirl

Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not negotiate details over the phone, a senior Indian diplomat was quoted as saying in a Times of India report, after German media claimed the PM had declined multiple calls from U.S. President Donald Trump.

German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that Modi had refused four calls from Trump in recent weeks amid a worsening trade dispute. Japanese outlet Nikkei Asia carried a similar account, saying Trump’s frustration mounted as Modi remained unresponsive. 

U.S. officials have declined to confirm or deny whether the calls were made. But according to The Times of India, the Indian diplomat clarified that Modi avoids negotiating sensitive details over the phone. Another source, quoted in the report, suggested he may also have sidestepped the calls to prevent Trump from misrepresenting the outcome — something New Delhi has previously accused him of doing in the context of India-Pakistan tensions.

Business Today could not independently verify these reports.

Trump has, over the past four months, repeatedly claimed he prevented a potential nuclear war between India and Pakistan, often citing shifting numbers of jets lost and timelines of escalation. Analysts in Washington have dismissed such statements as exaggerated attempts to present himself as a peacemaker.

The unease has been compounded by Modi’s decision to decline Trump’s last-minute invitation to the White House after the G-20 summit in Canada. Trump had also invited Pakistan’s de facto military ruler Asim Munir, portraying himself as brokering peace — a move New Delhi criticized for equating “a perpetrator of terrorism and a victim of terrorism.”

Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has pointed to growing resentment in New Delhi, writing that India feels “deeply aggrieved” at being the only country threatened with tariffs and sanctions, while Russia and China have largely been spared.