New Delhi, Jan. 10 -- Foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev on Saturday dismissed claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to reach out to former US President Donald Trump over trade negotiations, saying there were "logical reasons" for any lack of direct leader-level engagement as key issues remained unresolved at the ministerial level.

Reacting to assertions from the US side that Prime Minister Modi did not call Trump for trade deals, the expert said that negotiations had hit long-standing red lines for India, including farm laws, genetically modified (GMO) exports, the agriculture sector, and data localisation norms.

"With all due respect, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made a mistake in setting the table. He did not u...