Trump says US has ‘lost India and Russia’

Hours earlier president Vladimir Putin proposed joint investment projects with American firms, urging Washington to renew cooperation

The US has apparently “lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China,” President Donald Trump said Friday in a post on Truth Social.

The message included a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi walking alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump wished the three a “long and prosperous future together.”

The leaders had gathered last Sunday at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, China. Putin remained afterward to attend commemorations of the 80th anniversary of World War II in Beijing, where he and Xi presided over a military parade joined by other foreign dignitaries. Trump accused Russia, China and North Korea – whose leader Kim Jong-un was also present – of “conspiring” against the U.S.

The US president has often employed sarcasm in public statements, including in his annual holiday messages directed at people he calls his “enemies”.

Russian officials dismissed the notion of a conspiracy. Putin’s foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that Trump’s comment appeared to be made in jest.

At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Friday, Putin emphasized Russia’s interest in constructive relations with Washington.

“The two-headed eagle, one of our national symbols, looks both ways,” he said, referencing Russia’s coat of arms. “Did we turn our backs on anyone? We did not. The eagle looks both ways just like always.”

Putin added that Moscow sees potential in trilateral investment projects with the US and China in the Arctic and other joint endeavors.

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