The US on Thursday denied reports that claimed India's ties with Washington could “get worse” amid the ongoing spat with Canada. The US embassy in India issued a clarification in response to an earlier report published in US-based Politico.
According to the report, an official said that US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti had told his team that India-US ties "could get worse for a time". It further stated that Garcetti had said the US "may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time".
In its statement issued on Thursday, the US Embassy said “Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India.” It further stated: “As his personal engagement and public schedule demonstrates, Ambassador Garcetti and the U.S. Mission to India are working every day to advance the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India."
The report quoting Garcetti's private comments was published on the day India told Canada to cut down on its number of diplomats posted in the country. India and Canada are engaged in a standoff triggered by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of India's “possible involvement” in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
India rejected the allegations as "absurd" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official over the case. India also suspended its visa services in Canada following the allegations.
The US has stated that India must cooperate with the Canadian investigation as it tries to strike a balance between its diplomatic ties with Delhi and Ottawa. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who was in the US earlier this week, met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Jaishankar minced no words as he hit out at Canada's “permissive” environment that allows terror elements to flourish. The EAM had also pointed out that the issue of the presence of separatists in Canada had been causing friction between India and Canada since the 1980s.
