US Congressman Ami Bera called on President Donald Trump to personally reach out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and persuade India to get deeper into Russia, stating that it could help de-escalate existing tensions in the India-US relationship. In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Bera, who has been representing California in the House of Representatives since 2013, underlined that "cooler heads need to prevail" in the current trade row and geopolitical tensions.
Bera's statement is made in the wake of the Trump administration slapping India with a 50% tariff on purchasing Russian oil. Although admitting that such threats should not be taken lightly, the Congressman urged Indian authorities not to overreact to each decision of the US President. He described the tariff problem as "a short blip" in a sustained strategic relationship, indicating that Congress should press for de-escalation in the name of Asian economic, supply chain, and strategic stability.
Bera also attacked the Trump administration's response to Pakistan, remembering the April terrorist strikes in India and the following ceasefire. He thanked Secretary Rubio for brokering talks but made it clear that it was finally down to India and Pakistan to stabilize the shaky truce. He reiterated that the US-India caucus in Congress is "extremely strong" and against high tariffs on close friends.
If he were directly advising Trump, Bera explained that he would advise him to use his friendship with Modi to ask India to apply its long-standing relationship with Russia to assist in resolving the conflict in Ukraine. He proposed that as a positive contribution, it could be traded off for liberalizing trade tensions and together confronting maritime security and freedom of navigation issues in Asia.
The Congressman criticized Trump's approach to Islamabad as "deeply odd" and "not orthodox for American politics." He contended that India and Pakistan were not comparable partners, India being a rising world power with a rapidly growing economy, whereas Pakistan is burdened with home-grown terrorism, an ailing economy, and political instability.
Bera cautioned that mistakes in managing Pakistan had the potential to hurt US-India relations, but reiterated his view that both nations have long-term strategic interests that should serve to guide their alliance.
