On India's 'No Press' Request, Sources Cite Trump's "Unpredictable Behaviour"

It's a standard practice to discuss matters linked to visits of VVIPs and convey them to the other side to ensure clarity of the schedules and proceedings, people with direct knowledge of the matter told NDTV, following comments by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor who said the Indian side communicated to them that it would prefer not to hold an interaction with the press before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump met in June on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France.

Delegations while meeting the US president are often wary of his "unpredictable behaviour", as may be seen from his interactions with the presidents of South Africa, Ukraine, etc which was why India took a cautious approach, sources said.

Gor made the remarks at a media event. He said he had explained to Trump the request by India ahead of the meeting with PM Modi, but Trump eventually ended up asking the reporters who had gathered there: "Any questions?"

"We were behind the scenes, behind the stage, and at one point it was just the president and I, and he asked me what the Indians are going to raise. We went over some topics. And he said, 'do they have any questions?' The MEA had one. I told the president the Indians prefer no questions. He said, 'sure, no problem'," Gor said.

Nevertheless, Trump ended up saying "any questions" to the reporters who had gathered there, opening the room to a full press conference.

"Discussions regarding arrangements for public appearances of leaders are normal practice ahead of any VVIP visit. In this regard, the Indian side communicated its standard practice for such visits," people familiar with the matter told NDTV.

The two leaders met just days after Indian sailors were killed in a US military strike during its war with Iran. The prime minister had pointed at the human cost of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and called for protection of maritime trade routes.

Though PM Modi did not directly mention that particular incident, his comments underlined India's concerns about the safety of civilian crews operating in conflict zones and the economic consequences of disruptions to maritime commerce.