Sep 02, Kathmandu - US President Donald Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro has objected to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's closeness to the leaders of Russia and China.

Navarro said, “It is shameful for Modi to stand with (Chinese President) Xi Jinping and (Russian President) Vladimir Putin.”

He added, “We don’t know what Modi is thinking, we hope he thinks he should be with us instead of Russia.”

Earlier on Monday, Navarro had commented that only Brahmins in India were profiting from buying cheap oil from Russia, and the entire country was paying the price.

The US has imposed a 50 percent customs duty on Indian goods, accusing them of buying oil from Russia to fund their invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant has also accused India of buying crude oil from Russia to empower it to invade Ukraine.

He called India a "bad player."

In an interview with Fox News, Besant called Indian Prime Minister Modi's participation in the SCO meeting in China a sham.

However, he said that the US and India are strong democracies and can resolve their differences.

The SCO meeting was held in Tianjin, China, on Monday. Before the meeting, Indian Prime Minister Modi, Chinese President Jinping and Russian President Putin were seen together. In the photo, they are holding each other's hands.

Prime Minister Modi also rode in Russian President Putin's car for bilateral talks. The two held a secret conversation for about an hour.

The photo was presented as a symbol of unity between the three countries against Trump. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was also present at the meeting.