Trump cracks a sly joke during a meeting with PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks very good English, but he never wants to talk, US President Donald Trump said jokingly on Monday before the two leaders met for formal talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

The two leaders held 40-minute discussions in Biarritz, the French town which is hosting the meeting of the world’s most industrialized nations.

The two leaders exchanged a warm handshake and spoke to media. Modi answered questions posed by reporters in Hindi.

“He (PM Modi) speaks very good English, he just doesn’t want to talk” Trump joked when Modi asked reporters to let the leaders talk in privacy.

The two leaders also held each other’s hands while everybody present in the room burst in laughter.

Trump said he was available to mediate over the escalating dispute between New Delhi and Islamabad regarding the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoJ&K).

On the sidelines of the G7 summit, Trump was asked by a reporter whether his offer to mediate between the two countries was still on the table, the US president responded as saying: “I am here.”

He added: “I have a very good relationship with both the gentlemen” (referring to prime ministers of Pakistan and India).

Modi, however, showed his stubbornness by declaring the Kashmir issue as a bilateral one between India and Pakistan.

But the US president despite Modi’s remarks insisted, “I’m here.”

Trump further said he had discussed the Kashmir issue with Modi last night.

Pakistan has stepped up efforts to raise the voice for the people of Kashmir at every available forum since India revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and imposed strict curfew in the occupied valley.

On Monday during an address to the nation, PM Imran Khan said that Modi’s decision was a “historic blunder” that had opened the doors for “Kashmir’s freedom”.