Trump believes that India and Russia appear to be lost to the "deepest, darkest China," but see a wave of new energy and potential in them.

US President Donald Trump performs a moving effort on the White House grounds in Washington, DC, on August 5, 2025, and talks with the press on the rooftop.

• Xi hosted more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries, including Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi, at the SCO summit in Tianjin, China, creating new opportunities for global cooperation and development.

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Friday said the meeting of the leaders of India and Russia with Chinese President Xi Jinping is an important step, which can help promote cooperation and understanding between the two countries. Trump said that there will be a bright future of cooperation between India, Russia and China. He wrote in a social media post with a picture of the three leaders together. Later on Friday, however, he told reporters that he hoped that the US-India relationship would deepen further. I am sure that we have a bright future, he said, adding, “I was very disappointed that India would buy so much oil from Russia, as you know. And I told them that.” Asked about Trump’s social media post, India’s foreign ministry told reporters in New Delhi that it had no comment. Representatives from the Chinese foreign ministry and the Kremlin were unable to be immediately reached and did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Xi hosted more than 20 leaders from non-Western countries for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Putin and Modi were seen holding hands at the summit as they walked towards Xi before the three men stood together. “I will always be Modi’s friend. He’s a great prime minister. He’s great. I will always be a friend, but I don’t like what he’s doing at this particular moment,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “But India and the United States have a special relationship, so it doesn’t matter. We just have moments.” Under Trump, relations between the United States and India could improve amid trade tensions and other disputes. Trump said this week that he was very disappointed with Putin but not troubled by the growing ties between Russia and China.

Trump has been frustrated by his failure to persuade Russia and Ukraine to end their war, more than three years after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday night, he indicated that he plans to speak with Putin soon and is confident that the talks will lead to positive results.