EAM Jaishankar to meet U.S. Secretary Blinken amid India-Canada diplomatic row
The Hindu
S. Jaishankar to meet Blinken in Washington to discuss India-Canada diplomatic crisis. US urges India to cooperate in Canadian investigation into killing of Sikh separatist. Jaishankar to review progress made since Modi's State Visit, engage with diaspora, think-tanks, corporate sector.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is scheduled to meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on Thursday, amid the diplomatic rumpus between India and Canada stirred over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.
Although officials from both sides are tightlipped about the agenda of the meeting, the latest diplomatic crisis between two of America’s friends, its traditional ally Canada and India, is expected to come up prominently during the talks.
“I don’t want to preview the conversations he (Mr. Blinken) will have in that meeting (with Mr. Jaishankar), but as we’ve made clear, we’ve raised this; we have engaged with our Indian counterparts on this and encouraged them to cooperate with the Canadian investigation, and we continue to encourage them to cooperate,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.
He was responding to questions about the meeting between Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Blinken at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department here on Thursday afternoon (about midnight local India time).
The two leaders are expected to pose for pictures ahead of the meeting and are not expected to take any questions from the media.
While the meeting between the two top diplomats was scheduled much before the Canadian crisis broke out, the US has been urging India to cooperate in the Canadian investigation into the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia early this year.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has alleged that the Indian government was behind the killing of Nijjar, 45, outside a gurdwara in Surrey in British Columbia on June 18. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.