New Delhi: The US Embassy in India has dismissed a report by Politico that said Ambassador Eric Garcetti warned his “in-country team” that ties between the two countries could “get worse for a time” due to the India-Canada diplomatic spat, and that the US may need to “reduce its contacts with Indian officials” for an “undefined” period.
The report, which suggested that one cannot “expect more noise from the White House anytime soon” on the India-Canada row, also reached out to an unnamed US State Department spokesperson who called Garcetti a “champion” of the strong ties between India and the US, and termed the partnership “important, strategic, and consequential”.
In a statement to ThePrint Thursday, US Embassy spokesperson Christopher Elms dismissed the report published on 3 October, while maintaining that Ambassador Garcetti has been working hard to “deepen” the partnership between New Delhi and Washington.
“Ambassador Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India. His personal engagement and the broad activity across the U.S. Mission to India demonstrate the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India,” Elms said.
Eric Garcetti officially took over as US Ambassador to India four months ago.
The report suggesting that Garcetti instructed his team to limit their contact with Indian officials came two weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spurred a diplomatic row by declaring in the Canadian Parliament that Ottawa was investigating a “potential link” between Indian intelligence and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian national who was declared a terrorist by Indian authorities in 2020.
Earlier this week, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told reporters that Ottawa is seeking a “private” dialogue with New Delhi amid strained bilateral ties.
Reports have also surfaced indicating that the US — a member of the Five Eyes alliance — supposedly provided intelligence to Canada in connection with the Nijjar killing. Canadian and US officials have repeatedly urged India to cooperate with the Canadian investigation and ensure that “those responsible are brought to justice”.
On its part, India has said that it is willing to look at any “relevant and specific” information Ottawa can provide to support its claims.
However, India and Canada have engaged in tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats and the issuance of travel advisories. New Delhi has also asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country to achieve “parity” in strength and rank equivalence corresponding to India’s diplomatic presence in Canada. Reports suggest that over 40 Canadian diplomats in India will be recalled before 10 October.
Against this backdrop, the US, which views India as a bulwark against a rising China, is walking a tightrope — balancing its strategic interests while also backing its North American neighbour and NATO ally.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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