Washington: Amid the ongoing diplomatic tussle between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken here on Thursday and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations.
Before this meeting at the State Department, Jaishankar said in front of the media with Blinken, “It is good to be here.” Thank you to the United States for all the support for the G20 summit. Blinken said that they have had good discussions on various occasions in the last few weeks, including the G20 and the UN General Assembly session in New York. He said that he is looking forward to discussions with his Indian counterpart.
However, both the leaders did not answer any questions from the media. However, officials from both sides remained silent regarding the agenda of this meeting. But the recent diplomatic crisis between America’s two friends is likely to dominate this discussion.
“I don’t want to make any predictions about what he (Blinken) will discuss in the meeting (with Jaishankar), but as we’ve made clear, we raised it,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. We have asked them to cooperate with Canada’s investigation and we will continue to encourage them to do so.
This plan for the meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries was prepared long before the Canada crisis. The US is appealing to India for cooperation in Canada’s investigation into the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia earlier this year.
Canada has accused India of being involved in the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. India has called the allegations “baseless” and said Canada has become a haven for terrorists.
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