International hide and seek.

"US President Donald Trump has once again claimed credit for averting a potential war between India and Pakistan, saying he used the threat of steep tariffs to stop the two nuclear-armed neighbors from 'going at it'." He claimed that seven planes were shot down. TOI. "Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told Trump that Delhi will never accept third-party mediation with Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir." "Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that Modi had 'strongly' conveyed India's long-held stand to Trump during a phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday (17 June)." Mr Modi also told Trump 'clearly' that "no talks were held at any level on the India-America trade deal or on the mediation between India and Pakistan by America." BBC. How muscular were "strongly' and "clearly"? Trump left Canada early during the G7 summit without meeting Mr Modi. HT. After telling Trump off, Mr Modi kept away from the live session of the UN General Assembly  (UNGA) ,which he was to address on 26 September. ET. "If he travels all the way to New York, the PM would really want to have a bilateral meeting with Trump. However, in the current circumstances, govt believes it's best to avoid a high-stakes meeting between the two leaders." TOI. Now Trump is claiming that India will stop buying crude oil from Russia. "India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop...it's a process." "By the end of the year, they'll be down to almost nothing, about 40% of the (Russian) oil." HT. This was repeated by the White House when, "The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt...claimed India had scaled back Russian oil imports at US President Donald Trump's 'request'." "India has dismissed reports of any policy shift, reiterating that its priority remains safeguarding consumer interest." TOI. Perhaps, as a result, "Modi has decided to avoid traveling to Kuala Lumpur for the meeting with ASEAN counterparts, pouring cold water on speculation about a bilateral meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the summit." "Look forward to joining the ASEAN-India summit virtually, and to further deepening the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," Mr Modi posted on X. DH. Mr Modi has projected himself as a 'strongman' so he cannot be seen to be caving in to Trump but, "India's largest private oil refinery Reliance Industries is reportedly halting purchases of Russian crude, following the US' decision to sanction Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil." "In September, it purchased 629,590 barrels of Russian crude per day from the two firms, out of India's total imports of 1.6 million barrels per day." CNBC. Obey Trump, with deniability. India may strongly reject hyphenating India with Pakistan (India TV) but we have quietly accepted Sergio Gor as the US Ambassador to India, as well as Trump's special envoy to South and Central Asia (pmindia.gov.in). That puts us in the same basket, not only with Pakistan, but with all the other 'stans' in Central Asia. A nation has the right to refuse agrement to a diplomat without giving a reason. wikipedia. Our tourist prime minister loves to travel, as his schedule shows (pmindia.gov.in). How long will he play hide and seek with Trump? Even if it's entertaining.