PM Modi raises ongoing George Floyd protest in US in Trump phone call; big statement here

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday had a telephone conversation United States President Donald Trump in which the leaders discussed a host of issues. Among these, one of the major ones was the civil disturbances in America over the killing of an American African man which has taken the country and Trump administration by storm. 

According to the official statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, PM Modi expressed concern regarding the ongoing civil disturbances in the US and conveyed his best wishes for an early resolution of the situation.

Here's the MEA's note on the conversation, which makes note of the PM raising the ongoing tensions in the US, which is a big diplomatic statement:

Floyd, 46, was handcuffed and pinned to the ground in Minneapolis on Monday last week by a white police officer who kneeled on his neck as he gasped for breath. Protests and violence began across the US soon after the incident and have been continuing since then. 

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of major US cities on Tuesday for an eighth consecutive night of protests over Floyd’s death, defying pleas by mayors, strict curfews and other measures meant to curtail them.

PM Modi- Trump discuss India-China border situation

Besides, Trump conveyed his desire to expand the ambit of the G-7 beyond the existing membership to include other important countries including India. In this context, he extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to attend the next G-7 Summit to be held in the USA.

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Prime Minister Modi commended President Trump for his "creative and far-sighted approach", acknowledging the fact that such an expanded forum would be in keeping with the emerging realities of the post-COVID world. He said that India would be happy to work with the US and other countries to ensure the success of the proposed summit.

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The two leaders also exchanged views on other topical issues such as the COVID-19 situation in the two countries, the situation on the India-China border, and the need for reforms in the World Health Organisation.

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This was the first interaction between the two leaders since the US President offered to mediate in the "raging border dispute" between India and China. Both India and China later said they were engaged to resolve the border issue.

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(With agency inputs)