The latest interaction between Washington and New Delhi is a study in how diplomacy often mixes warmth with hard bargaining. A birthday phone call from the American President to India’s Prime Minister, replete with praise and talk of partnership, came even as punitive tariffs on Indian exports remain firmly in place.

The gesture offered a fleeting moment of goodwill, but it also underscored a deeper reality: sentiment may open doors, but strategy decides what crosses the threshold. The American leader’s message was carefully calibrated. By thanking India for its role in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he acknowledged New Delhi’s global relevance while avoiding any direct concession on trade.

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India, for its part, responded with equal optimism, emphasising friendship and the shared goal of elevating the relationship to “new heights.” Both sides thus managed to project camaraderie while sidestepping the uncomfortable fact that the tariffs ~........

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