A day after US envoy Sergio Gor claimed that India had requested changes to the media arrangements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit, the government on Monday described the communication as standard practice ahead of high-level engagements.
“Discussions regarding arrangements for public appearances of leaders are normal practice ahead of any VVIP visit, and in this regard, the Indian side had communicated its standard practice for such visits,” government sources told ANI.
Gor claimed on Saturday that the Ministry of External Affairs specifically asked the US administration to avoid allowing questions from the media following the leaders’ opening remarks at their June 17 meeting in Evian-les-Bains, France.
According to Gor, Trump initially agreed to the request but later invited journalists to ask questions, turning the session into a 45-minute press conference with PM Modi sitting alongside him.
Recalling a conversation with Trump before the meeting, Gor said the President had asked what the Indian delegation planned to raise during the talks.
“We were behind the scenes, behind the stage, and at one point it was just the president and I, and he asked me, what the Indians are going to raise. We went over some topics,” Gor said.
He said he subsequently told Trump that the Indian side preferred that there be no questions from the media.
“I told the president, I said, the Indians prefer no questions. He said, sure, no problem,” Gor said.
According to the envoy, the meeting began with dozens of cameras in the room, with both leaders making brief opening remarks. Trump then looked towards the media and asked, “Any questions?”
“And that opened everything up,” Gor said.
The meeting took place amid tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz after three Indian mariners were killed in an attack by the US Navy on a commercial vessel in the waterway.
Modi raised the issue during his talks with Trump, who, however, downplayed the incident, describing the maritime profession as a “rough profession”.
The two leaders also discussed broader India-US trade relations.
