Trump's not thinking about the effects of his actions: Ex-US NSA John Bolton

US President Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor John Bolton on Wednesday said the latest conciliatory messages between Trump and PM Modi were a "positive sign" and hoped that it would end the confrontation between the two countries.In an exclusive interview to TOI, Bolton, who has been a vocal critic of Trump, said, "Trump sees state-to-state relations as being almost totally embodied in the personal relationship between the leaders of the country concerned. So, it's a positive sign that he said nice things about PM Modi, and I hope that's a precursor to resolving some of the issues on the tariffs." But adding a note of caution he said, "The trouble is the 25% tariff on the purchase of Russian oil.

That's still something that I think Trump is going to insist on." He added that the additional 25% tariffs were "proof of incoherence" in strategy within the Trump administration.Bolton's remarks come on a day when the tone appears to have shifted in US-India ties. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump's post on Truth Social announced that he saw no difficulty in negotiating a deal with India and described PM Modi as a "very good friend".

Modi reciprocated by terming India and the US as "close friends" and "natural partners".On the issue of an additional penalty of 25% levied for purchasing Russian oil, the former NSA said that ironically sanctions had not been applied on China, which is the largest buyer. "I think it's a case of the Trump's administration not thinking about what the effects of certain actions will be; they think in terms of Ukraine and don't consider other larger questions.

And that's why this confrontation has been so damaging to long-standing efforts to try and draw India closer to the US," he said.Speaking on the structuring of the oil levy, he said it was created with two objectives: to reduce Russia's revenues to impair its ability to conduct the war in Ukraine and keep Russian oil under a price cap. The Biden administration and European govts were worried about increases in the price of gasoline in their countries.

Referring to this policy, he said, "This is doomed to failure because it's self-contradictory.

My understanding is that much of the oil that India bought from Russia was sold to the Europeans. So, it's a little bit hard for the Europeans to complain about this. To me, it's further proof of incoherence within the Trump administration."On being asked what the thinking behind the constant shift in US strategy, he said, "I don't think they are thinking.

That's the problem. Part of strategic thinking is to work out what your priorities are. The war in Ukraine is, and has been, a high priority. But the US relationship with India is a high priority too, and the two trains have collided here. We have to try and repair the damage, and that should be a very high priority for the Trump administration.

Officials should think about how to accomplish these objectives without them crashing into each other."A week earlier Bolton had posted on X how personal relationships with Trump don't amount to much. "Trump had a very good relationship personally with Modi. I think that's gone now. It's a lesson to everybody..."