US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti told his team in the country that relations between India and the US “could get worse for a time” due to New Delhi’s diplomatic spat with Canada, according to a report published in Politico.
According to an unnamed State Department official, Garcetti also said that “the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time”.
The US Embassy dismissed the report, saying that “Ambassador Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India. As his personal engagement and public schedule demonstrates, Ambassador Garcetti and the US Mission to India are working every day to advance the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India.”
The US has said that Canada’s allegations of a “potential” involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June are “serious” and has called for a full investigation. It has also said that it has discussed the matter with New Delhi and has urged it to participate actively in the probe.—INP
