US President Donald Trump said Friday that India and Russia were “lost” to China, two days after the top political leaders of the three countries met in Beijing.

“It seems we have lost India and Russia to a deeper, darker China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!,” he wrote in a brief message posted on the Truth Social network, alluding to the recent trip by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump had already spoken out in recent days about the presence of leaders from various countries at the military parade organized in Beijing to mark the eightieth anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II. He accused the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, of “conspiring” against the United States with the help of Putin and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un.

This week, Trump claimed that India has offered to reduce its tariffs on US goods to zero, although he called the proposal “too late” amid rising trade tensions between the two countries.

In a post on his aforementioned Truth Social platform, Trump described the US-India trade relationship as “totally one-sided” and a “disaster” that has persisted for decades.

“They sell us massive amounts of products. We are their biggest ‘customer,’ but we sell them very little,” Trump wrote. “They have now offered to reduce their tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting too late. They should have done this years ago.”

The US president's statement came days after 50% tariffs on Indian imports went into effect in retaliation for India's continued purchases of discounted Russian oil.

Trump justified the tariff measures by arguing that India has charged the United States “such high tariffs, the highest of any country, that our companies cannot sell to India.”

The Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Trump's comments, who also criticized India for buying “most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the United States.”

The trade tensions come against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, as Washington has repeatedly warned New Delhi against buying Russian crude oil, arguing that such transactions keep Moscow's revenues afloat to fund the conflict.

India has defended its imports as essential to meet the growing energy needs of its 1.4 billion people. The country historically purchased most of its crude oil from the Middle East, but Russia now accounts for approximately 37% of India's total oil imports, according to Indian analysts and officials.

Trade between India and Russia has increased significantly in recent years, reaching a record $68.7 billion in fiscal year 2024-25. Imports from Russia reached around $64 billion, while exports from India totaled approximately $5 billion.