A day after a Bloomberg report citing official sources claimed that India's ties with the US thawed after National Security Adviser Ajit Doval's secret meeting with US officials in Washington, the Ministry of External Affairs has clarified that no such meeting or visit took place.
"Regarding the report by Bloomberg, I would like to say that there is absolutely no basis for that report. No such meeting or no such visit has taken place," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal revealed during a press briefing.
No visit of NSA Ajit Doval or meeting with Rubio took place, MEA dismisses Bloomberg report pic.twitter.com/cMzNtAY0im https://t.co/6sPd4KCHqM
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) February 5, 2026
The Bloomberg report claimed that NSA Doval met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington in early September, around the time when PM Modi was in Tianjin, China, for the SCO Summit. Doval reportedly told Rubio that India would not be bullied by US President Donald Trump and was willing to wait out Trump's term to end in 2029.
"India wouldn't be bullied by US President Donald Trump and his top aides, and would be willing to wait out his term, having faced other hostile US administrations in the past," Bloomberg quoted Doval as telling Rubio.
The report also claimed that Doval had made it clear that India wanted Trump and his aides to dial down their public criticism of India in order to get the ties back on track.
The purported meeting came on the heels of US imposing 50 per cent tariffs on India for procuring oil from Russia and thereby allegedly funding the 'war machine' in Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump had a phone conversation, following which the two sides announced that US tariffs on Indian goods will be reduced to 18 per cent as part of a trade deal.
