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US President Donald Trump turns down Indian PM Narendra Modi’s Republic Day Invite

USA President Donald Trump with Indian PM Narendra Modi
USA President Donald Trump with Indian PM Narendra Modi

 

USA President Donald Trump with Indian PM Narendra Modi
USA President Donald Trump with Indian PM Narendra Modi

US President Donald Trump has refused PM Modi’s Republic Day invite after various setbacks in the diplomatic relations

US President Donald Trump finally broke the suspense by declaring that he will not be attending India’s 70th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on 26 January 2019. This news was declared by National Security Adviser and PM Modi’s aid, Ajit Doval.

This decision comes amid increasing tensions between the heads of the two countries. In October 2018, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President, arrived at New Delhi to sign the deal regarding the sale of five S-400 missiles. This was after India was declared as a NATO ally earlier in the year. As per USA’s Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), US can take punitive actions against countries which engage in business with its adversaries. Underestimating India’s allegiance to its code of non-alliance or neutrality with respect to the US-Russia hegemonic battle (which goes back to the times of Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1960s), US President Donald Trump responded to this move by threatening India with sanctions. Though the sanctions have not been declared as of yet, his refusal to attend the Republic Day has set the tone for future deals and correspondences between India and the USA. This is a setback for the PM Modi led government in India, which was successful at having the then US President Barack Obama as Chief Guest for Republic Day in 2015. This turning down of the invitation is symbolic of the weakening of ties between the two countries.