Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Sep 11: Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton downplayed trade tensions stirred by Donald Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro, calling them a ‘sideshow’ that India can safely ignore.

In an exclusive chat with NDTV, Bolton revealed that Navarro once tried to spark a clash between President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, focusing on trade grievances even during high-level strategic meetings. “If you left Peter alone in a room and came back an hour later, he would be in an argument with himself,” Bolton quipped.

Navarro has repeatedly attacked New Delhi over Russian oil imports, dubbing India “Tariff Maharaja” and warning it “won’t end well” if trade issues persist.

Bolton stressed that while trade is important, long-term strategic ties and shared concerns over China outweigh tariff disputes. “These issues aren’t easy or quickly resolved, but there will be good faith on both sides,” he said, urging both nations to focus on “hard strategic reality” rather than social-media sparring.

He added that Trump often views diplomacy through personal relationships, noting the recent positive exchanges between Trump and Modi. “It’s better than negative tweets,” Bolton remarked, but insisted the India-US partnership must be guided by strategic interests, not personalities.