‘Sir, may I see you please?’Trump's latest claim on PM Modi

Washington: US President Donald Trump said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly raised an issue with him over the delivery of American-made Apache helicopters and called him "sir". "I mean, I had India coming to me, sir. I've been waiting five years; we're changing it. We're changing it," Trump said, while he discussed defence manufacturing timelines and foreign military sales.

Speaking at the House GOP Member Retreat, Trump said that India approached him for early delivery of the Apaches that they had ordered years ago. "India ordered 68 Apaches, and Prime Minister Modi came to see me. Sir. May I see you, please? Yes," he said, recounting the interaction. He also added that he has "a very good relationship with him."

Trump later quickly acknowledged that the relationship between them is strained due to trade policy.

"He (Modi) is not that happy with me because, you know, they're paying a lot of tariffs now," he said. Trump added, "But now they (India) have reduced it very substantially, buying oil from Russia."

However, Trump has made several unsubstantiated claims about India and PM Modi over the past few months. The tariffs, totalling 50 per cent, were imposed due to India's significant purchases of Russian oil, which the US sees as supporting Russia's economy amid the Ukraine conflict.