New Delhi: From warning against taking the India-US relations for granted to stating that betting on Moscow is a poor choice, multiple American officials have spoken about their reservations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s just concluded visit to Russia where he hugged president Vladimir Putin.
The Washington Post reported that several officials expressed concern to Indian counterparts about Modi’s plans to visit Russia at a time when the US was kicking off a major NATO summit back home.
It said that Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke with Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra in early July in the hope that the Modi-Putin meeting might be rescheduled to avoid coinciding with this week’s summit.
A report by Bloomberg said that US officials felt Modi’s visit has fueled criticism from both within and outside the American government for working towards closer ties with the Modi administration. The report added that US officials acknowledged that the visit was “difficult” and “uncomfortable” for the Biden administration.
Not just media reports, even US officials also publicly spelt out their stand.
The most scathing statement came from the US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti who said Thursday evening that there is nothing called “strategic autonomy” in times of conflict.
He was hitting out that India which has always spoken about the need to have strategic autonomy and not been seen as part of any camp.
In August 2023, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had said that the “volatility of the last few years has brought home to us the importance of strategic autonomy”.
“I respect that India likes its strategic autonomy. But in times of conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy. We will in crisis moments need to know each other and need to know that we are trusted friends, brothers and sisters, colleagues in times of need in the next day can be acting together,” Garcetti said at a defence conclave organised by think tank CUTS and the US Embassy.
He argued that both India and the US should stand together “in principle against war.”
The ambassador also warned New Delhi of taking the bilateral relationship for granted. “In Washington today, where very few things unite American political leaders, it is bipartisan, it is bicameral, and it is bi-branch. But as I also remind my Indian friends, while it (India-US ties) is wide and it is deeper than it’s ever been, it is not yet deep enough,” he said.
“That if we take it for granted from the Indian side towards America, I’ll fight a lot of defensive battles trying to help this relationship ahead.”
“Do not take this relationship for granted. Enjoy every day of it, pay something into it…Let’s make sure that we look at each other not as a bet. Neither of us is a bride or a groom to be wooed or everyone’s friend at the party, but a strong set of powers,” he said Thursday.
Talking about the bilateral ties, Garcetti said “our heads and hearts are aligned” but the question is can the two countries “move the feet together” and build that continued deep trust and have the outcomes that meet the security threats of this moment.
In Washington, US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan on Thursday, too, stated that the “bet on Russia as a long-term, reliable partner is not a good bet” and that Moscow would side with Beijing over New Delhi.
“We’ve made clear to every country in the world including India that a bet on Russia as a long-term, reliable partner is not a good bet,” he said.
The top US official, who had met with his counterpart Ajit Doval and called on Modi in June, said that Russia is becoming closer to China.
“In fact, it’s becoming the junior partner to China. And in that way, they would side with China over India any day of the week. And … Prime Minister Modi, of course, has profound concerns about the potential for Chinese aggression against India. Which we have seen over recent years,” he said.
After pictures of Modi hugging Putin came out, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had slammed the Indian PM saying it was “disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts”.
The US State Department had also reacted to the visit, with State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller telling reporters Wednesday that America has been quite clear about its “concerns about India’s relationship with Russia.”
“We have expressed those privately directly to the Indian government, and continue to do so. And that has not changed,” Miller had said.
Similarly, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had said India is a strategic partner with whom the US engages in full and frank dialogue, including its relationship with Russia.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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