Our Bureau
New Delhi
The US ambassador, Eric Garcetti recently praised India’s growing influence in global affairs and commended its Navy for successfully capturing cargo ships taken by the pirates in the Indian Ocean. He also highlighted India’s significant contributions to empowering the Global South.
The United States has expressed concerns regarding India’s ties with Russia as Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Russia on July 8 and 9 and held a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. They have clearly stated that it encourages India to assist in achieving a “lasting and just peace in Ukraine.” Following the recent discussions, the US Department emphasized the importance of India’s role and urged the country to leverage its long standing relationship with Russia to advocate for peace in the ongoing conflict.
Also, Eric Garcetti recently acknowledged India’s strategic autonomy and long-standing ties with Russia but emphasized that in times of conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy. He also suggested that India will need to choose between Russia and the U.S. for long-term military requirements. Eric did not directly refer to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and drew comparison between Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s borders and the military standoff between India and China on the Line of Actual Control.
Garcetti emphasized the importance of the U.S.-India partnership, stating that the two countries need to be “trusted friends, Brothers and sisters, colleagues” in crisis moments. He also highlighted the ongoing cooperation between India and the U.S. in the field of space, including discussions on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission (NISAR) and a proposal for a “QUAD satellite” involving India and the U.S.
The ambassador asserted that he was misunderstood during his previous comments regarding India’s Northeast, particularly in relation to the ongoing unrest in Manipur last July. He emphasized that his intention was to express compassion for human suffering, regardless of its location, and reiterated that the resolution of the situation is primarily an Indian matter that should be addressed by Indians themselves.
