US tries to downplay differences with India; seeks engagement to address Ukraine-Hamas conflicts
India over an alleged plot to kill Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and expressed its willingness to engage with New Delhi in resolving the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia.
“I would say that we would welcome India’s constructive engagement in these two matters (wars in Ukraine and Gaza) as we welcome constructive engagement from countries around the world,” US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
He said the Joe Biden administration has focused a “great deal of time and attention” on the ties with India.
Miller’s comments came ahead of foreign minister S Jaishankar’s Moscow trip later this week.
India, which has maintained neutrality in the Ukraine war and continued its engagements with Russia, favours dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward to end the conflict.
India has strong ties with Israel as well as with the Arab world. The country recently hosted the Sultan of Oman.
The Narendra Modi government also deputed a senior minister to Kuwait to pay homage a day after the demise of the Emir and declared a day of national mourning.
During his press briefing late on Monday, Miller also said, “The secretary (Antony Blinken) has a close productive working relationship with his counterpart (Jaishankar). We have welcomed him here in the past couple of months.
And of course, the secretary has travelled to India twice since September. President Biden has travelled to India this year.”
He, however, did not refer to Biden’s decision to skip the Republic Day celebrations and the proposed Quad Summit in India next month.
India and the US have built a wide-ranging partnership over the years with Modi and Biden holding several bilateral meetings where they stressed the need for further
