India denies Musk joins Modi, Trump in calling for war, refutes US media reports

New Delhi: Billionaires reportedly Elon Musk Join calls between PMs Narendra Modi and chairman Donald Trump Last week, the Indian government said on Saturday that dialogue would be limited to leaders only.The New York Times reported late Friday that Musk participated in the call between Trump and Modi, calling it unusual for a private citizen to speak on the phone between the two leaders during a wartime crisis.“We have seen the story. The telephone conversation on March 24 was limited to between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. As stated earlier, it provided an opportunity to exchange views on the situation in West Asia,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.While the MEA denied that anyone else was involved, the White House did not confirm or deny the report. “President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have a good relationship and this was a productive conversation,” White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said in a statement to a news organization.The report quoted two anonymous U.S. officials as saying that it was unclear why Musk participated in the conference call or whether he spoke. “His companies have received significant investments from sovereign wealth funds of Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Musk has also long aspired to have greater business influence in India,” the company said.Trump had called Modi to discuss the situation in West Asia, including the need to secure the Strait of Hormuz. According to reports in India, Modi pointed out that the safe passage of ships through the strait is crucial to global peace, stability and economic well-being.It was their first conversation since early February and comes as Pakistan reportedly works to host talks between the United States and Iran to end the ongoing military conflict. US Ambassador Sergio Gore has said the president wants to keep Modi apprised of developments related to the conflict.