NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Friday rejected recent claims by Donald Trump, declaring that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the US President “share a friendly relationship based on mutual respect.”Addressing the weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Prime Minister Modi and President Trump have a friendly relationship and have always addressed each other with mutual respect as per diplomatic norms.” The statement came in response to remarks made by Trump earlier this week at the House GOP Member Retreat, where he claimed that PM Modi had personally raised concerns with him over delays in the delivery of US-made Apache attack helicopters and had addressed him as “sir” .Trump said, “Prime Minister Modi came to see me, ‘Sir, may I see you please’,” claiming PM Modi sought a meeting to flag the slow pace of helicopter deliveries. The US president has often claimed that everyone, including foreign leaders (except Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping) addresses him as “sir.” He further alleged that India had ordered 68 Apache helicopters and had been waiting for years for delivery.However, as per official records India has only ordered a total of 28 AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters from the United States, all of which had been delivered by December 2025. The procurement took place in two separate phases and not as a single large order.India has also purchased 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters from Boeing, delivered between 2019 and 2020.Even when combined, the two deals account for 43 helicopters, not 68. There is no record with India’s Ministry of Defence or under US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) of any additional Apache orders, earlier TOI reported.Trump’s remarks appear to exaggerate figures and timelines, a pattern critics say is common in his public statements. He has repeatedly claimed that he forced India and Pakistan into a truce by threatening tariffs as another example.The MEA, however, limited its response to reaffirming the nature of ties between the two leaders, stressing mutual respect and established diplomatic norms. It also rejected remarks by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that “PM Modi’s reluctance to call Trump” had delayed a US-India trade deal, calling them “inaccurate.” Jaiswal noted that, “PM Modi and President Trump have spoken on eight occasions in 2025.”