WASHINGTON: Presi­dent Donald Trump said on Friday India and Russia seem to have been “lost” to China after their leaders met Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, expressing annoyance at New Delhi and Moscow as Beijing pushes a new world order.

“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” Trump wrote in a social media post accompanying a photo of the three leaders together at Xi’s summit in China.

Asked about Trump’s post, India’s foreign ministry told reporters in New Delhi that it had no comment.

The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment, and representatives for the Kremlin could not be immediately reached.

Xi Jinping hosted more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) earlier this week 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 toward Xi before all three men stood side by side.

The US president has chilled ties with India amid trade tensions and other disputes. Trump this week said he was “very disappointed” in Putin, but not worried about growing Russia-China ties.

He has been frustrated at his inability to convince Russia and Ukraine to reach an end to their war. He told reporters on Thursday night at the White House that he planned to talk to Putin soon.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2025