Donald Trump refuses to attend Republic Day celebrations in India

New Delhi: In an embarrassing moment, US president Donald Trump reportedly turned down the invitation to b e the chief guest at the Republic Day Celebrations here.

According to the speculations, Trump would not travel to India in January as the State of the Union address is scheduled in the winter month.

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In August, White House press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed that Prez Trump has received the invite to visit India. She stated, "I know that the invitation has been extended, but I do not believe that a final decision has been made."

The American Embassy in Delhi said that only White House can reveal the President's travel Plan.

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It is to be mentioned that Trump's declination to India's invitation comes week after india and US ave had a rough time over a range of geopolitical issues. India's insistence on buying oil from Iran despite US sanctions on the oil-producing nation was not taken well by the Trump administration.

India and the US also had to navigate a complex issue of possible US sanctions after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government decided to buy the Russian S-400 long-range missile system, which the US considers is within the scope of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

The S-400 missile system is arguably the world's deadliest surface-to-air missile and the US believes the weapon can bring imbalance on the battlefield if it falls into the wrong hands. Russia's deployment of the missile system in Syria is seen as a threat to the West.

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Former US President barack Obama visited India twice and he also attended Republic Day celebrations in 2015, despite the State of the Union address falling in January every year.