PM Modi Not In ‘Good Mood’ Over Border Row With China, Says Trump; Reiterates Mediation Offer

US President Donald Trump said that he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was not in a good mood over the ongoing border situation, while addressing reporters at Oval office.

(Photo by Prakash SINGH / AFP)

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump, while commenting on India-China military standoff in Ladakh, has said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ‘not in good mood,’ over the latest flare-ups between the two nations and reiterated that he would readily mediate if the two nations felt the need. Trump was interacting with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday where he termed the standoff as a “big-conflict” between India and China. "We have a big conflict going on between India and China, 2 countries with 1.4 billion people and very powerful militaries,” Trump said while responding to the questions about the border situation. “India is not happy and probably China is not happy,” Trump said. “I did speak to PM Modi, he is not in a good mood about what's going on with China,” the US President added. "If they thought it would help if I were the mediator or arbitrator, I would do that," he said on being asked if he wants to mediate between India & China. Watch here: "PM Narendra Modi not in 'good mood' over India-China standoff," Says Trump On Wednesday, Trump had offered to mediate between India and China, in a tweet. In a carefully crafted response to Trump’s offer, India said it was engaged with China peacefully to resolve border dispute. "We are engaged with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve it," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said. China is yet to respond to Trump’s offer. Responding to a question on his tweet, Trump reiterated his offer and said that if called for help, "I would do that (mediate). If they thought it would help" about "mediate or arbitrate, I would do that," he said. Currently, Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a standoff in the highly sensitive western sector of Ladakh, where China's People's Liberation Army has beefed up its military assets by reportedly moving two brigades along the Galwin Valley and Pangong Tso Lake region. Trump previously offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, a proposal which was rejected by New Delhi.