US, India ties may get worse: envoy

NEW DELHI: A Politico report claimed that US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti told his team that India-US ties may get ‘worse for a time’ because of Canada row. 

While the United States maintained distance on the India-Canada diplomatic row, a Politico report claimed that US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti told his in-country team that relations between India and the United States could get worse for a time, because of India’s diplomatic spat with Canada. “Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contact with Indian officials for an undefined period of time,” the Politico report said adding that no State Department spokesperson confirmed this on record. US said the allegations brought by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau that India played a role in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar are serious and it wants India to cooperate with Canada in the probe. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, was killed outside the Gurdwara that he headed. Trudeau publicly blamed India for the killing. New Delhi rejected the allegations and told Canada that it’s (targetted killing) not India’s policy.

Eric Garcetti’s private comment, as reported by Politico, is different than the US’ official stand on the issue. On Wednesday too, the US ambassador spoke positively about the India-US relationship as he commented on the defence partnership between the two countries.

The Politico report came the day India told Canada to reduce the number of its diplomats posted in India amid the ongoing controversy. Canada PM Justin Trudeau, in reaction, said Canada did not want escalation with India but wanted to work with New Delhi. Canada’s foreign minister said private talks with India were going on.

What US officially said on the India-Canada rowThe India-Canada diplomatic crisis puts the US in a fix because of its ties with both India and Canada. External affairs minister S Jaishankar met NSA Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his recent US visit where the Canada issue came up. In its recent official statement on the issue, the White House said the Canadian allegations regarding India’s development in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar are serious and need to be investigated fully. “We will certainly leave it to those two countries to talk about their bilateral relationship,” John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said.