New Delhi, March 28 -- The government on Saturday refuted a media report that billionaire Elon Musk joined a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump this week, with the external affairs ministry saying only the two leaders participated in the conversation.

The New York Times reported that Musk participated in the phone call between Trump and Modi on Tuesday, describing it as an "unusual appearance by a private citizen on a call between two heads of state during a wartime crisis."

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal acknowledged the report and said: "The telephone conversation on March 24 was between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump only."

He added, "As has ...