New Delhi: US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan Saturday said the “story is yet to be completely written” when asked about the ongoing talks between New Delhi and Washington DC over the alleged murder-for-hire plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia, Biden’s top security aide also warned that due to its growing closeness with China, Moscow would not be a “reliable friend” of New Delhi’s going forward.
On whether the US has received satisfactory explanations from India about the Pannun case, Sullivan said talks have been “constructive” and remain a “sensitive” matter.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of value in talking about the nature of that conversation publicly. It is sensitive and something we are working through. The story in my view has not yet been completely written,” he said. “We need to keep working through it but we have had a constructive dialogue with India on this issue. We’ve made it very clear where we stand on it and what we would like to see. It has been respectful and effective because it is taking place behind closed doors.”
Earlier, in June, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who had visited Delhi along with Sullivan, had said that the US seeks accountability from India over the Pannun case, and has “consistently asked for updates” on the high-level committee set up by New Delhi last November.
Speaking at the 2024 Aspen Security Forum in Colorado Saturday, Sullivan was asked about Modi’s recent visit to Russia. “I did not see, out of that visit, tangible evidence that India was in fact deepening [its military relationship with Russia]. I didn’t see deliverables in that space,” he said.
Earlier this month, Modi picked Russia as his first official state visit overseas since assuming charge as prime minister for the third time. The visit was viewed as an effort to deepen ties with a “time-tested friend”. It put India’s balancing act between Moscow and the West amid the Ukraine war, to the ultimate test. Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin inked nine agreements in an attempt to broaden the trade and economic basket beyond energy and defence.
“India has a historic relationship with Russia that they’re not going to cut off. We want to continue a deep dialogue with India about the specifics and the nature of that relationship [with Russia] and whether it evolves, particularly because Russia is getting closer to China,” Sullivan told an audience in Colorado.
“As the junior partner to China, Russia is not necessarily going to be a great and reliable friend to India in a future contingency or crisis,” he added.
Asked about the bear hug between Modi and Putin, Sullivan implied that it was not a good look.
“Modi has a certain way of greeting world leaders. I’ve seen it up close and personal. We never want to see countries that we care about, who are partners and friends of ours, show up in Moscow and hug Putin. Of course, we don’t,” he said.
On 9 July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed Modi over the bear hug. The Ukrainian leader called it a “disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts”. Modi and Putin’s hug coincided with a day that saw a missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
Shortly after the tragedy, Modi expressed regret for the loss of “innocent lives”, in his talks with Putin, and emphasised that the solution to the conflict can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy and not on the battlefield.
Last week, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval dialed Sullivan and spoke about advancing the strategic partnership between the two countries. This came days after Modi’s visit to Russia made headlines. The two NSAs last met in Delhi in June during the annual meeting of the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
While speaking on the relationship between India and the US, Sullivan said there is opportunity between the two countries in the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region, which is witnessing a rising China.
“We see enormous opportunity [with India] in technology, economics and in the statecraft and geopolitics of the wider Indo-Pacific region,” Sullivan told the audience in Colorado.
“We want to deepen that relationship as equals and two sovereign countries who also have relationships with other countries,” he said.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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As long as the US harbours and enables terrorists like Mr. Pannun, India will keep it’s options open.
By standing firm on enabling Khalistani & Islamic terrorists and supplying modern lethal weaponry to Pakistan, the US has proven itself to be a duplicitous partner as far as Indian national security is concerned.
India and the US are certainly great economic partners. But when it comes to strategic and security partnership, the US has to walk the talk. Unless the US does so, there is no reason why India should prefer the US over Russia.
If Mr. Pannun had been a Russian citizen residing in Russia, just a phone call from the EAM Mr. Jaishankar would have been enough for the FSB to arrest and deport him to India.