WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Thursday with India’s foreign minister amid a simmering row between New Delhi and Ottawa over allegations of Indian govt involvement within the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada.
Blinken and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met Thursday on the State Department as the U.S. tries to navigate the dispute between its northern neighbor and the South Asian nation crucial to its Indo-Pacific solution to counter China’s emerging affect within the area.
Neither guy spoke to the talk that has disrupted Canada-India family members in very temporary feedback to newshounds. U.S. officers had mentioned they anticipated the subject to be raised. “We have consistently engaged with the Indian government on this question and have urged them to cooperate,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller mentioned.
Earlier Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned he have been informed Blinken would deal with the topic and inspire the Indian govt to cooperate with an investigation into the killing.
“The Americans have been with us in speaking to the Indian government about how important it is that they be involved in following up on the credible allegations that agents of the Indian government killed a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil,” Trudeau mentioned.
“This is something all democratic countries, all countries that respect the rule, need to take seriously and we are moving forward in a thoughtful, responsible way anchored in the rule of law with all partners, including in our approach with the government of India,” he informed newshounds in Montreal.
U.S. officers have said that the fallout from the allegations, which they take severely, can have a profound have an effect on on family members with India however had been cautious to not solid blame within the June killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was once slain in a Vancouver suburb.
Killed by means of masked gunmen, Nijjar was once a pace-setter in what stays of a once-strong motion to create an impartial Sikh fatherland, known as Khalistan, and India had designated him a terrorist.
India’s foreign ministry has dismissed the allegation as “absurd” and accused Canada of harboring “terrorists and extremists.” It additionally implied that Trudeau was once looking to drum up home toughen some of the Sikh diaspora.
In his feedback, Trudeau mentioned Canada didn’t need to rupture ties with India however takes the topic severely.
“As we’ve presented with our Indo-Pacific strategy just last year, we’re very serious with about building closer ties with India,” he said. “At the same time … we need emphasize that India needs to work with Canada to ensure that we get the full facts on this matter.”
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Associated Press creator Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this file.
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