During conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy: U.S. Ambassador
As Washington raises concerns over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow, Eric Garcetti says India and the U.S. must ‘act together’ in ‘times of need’ as trusted partners; both countries should also be open to criticising each other, especially o
There is no such thing as “strategic autonomy” during a conflict, U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti said on Thursday, even as sources said that U.S. officials have raised concerns with Indian officials over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia this week.
The comments, including a series of statements critical of the visit by the U.S. State Department, are the sharpest sign of tensions between the U.S. and India over the PutinModi summit, including the timing of the talks that came as Western leaders met in Washington for a conference of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and a series of deadly Russian missile strikes across Ukraine.
“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,” Mr. Garcetti said, addressing a conference in Delhi, stressing the need for India and the U.S. to “act together” in “times of need” as trusted partners.
The U.S. Ambassador was addressing a conclave on IndiaU. S. defence and security partnership, organised by CUTS International and U.S. ConsulateGeneral, Kolkata.
“No war is distant any more and we must not just stand for peace. We must take concrete actions to make sure those who don’t play by peaceful rules, that their war machines cannot continue unabated,” Mr. Garcetti continued, without specifically naming Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 or China’s transgressions at the Line of Actual Control in 2020, but referring to countries
that have “ignored sovereign borders” in the past three years.
In statements on Ukraine, the U.S. State Department regularly refers to the “Russian war machine”.
India has consistently held that its ties with Russia are part of its independent bilateral relations and strategic autonomy, and has thus far not directly criticised Russia at the United Nations for the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, sources confirmed to The Hindu that U.S. officials have raised concerns directly over India’s ties with Russia, including the surprise visit by Mr. Modi to Moscow this week, which had not been announced until recently.
According to the sources, India’s Acting Ambassador in Washington, Sripriya Ranganathan, was “asked” to explain the reason for the visit and its timing by the U.S. State Department officials. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell had also spoken to Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra about the issue.
External Affairs Ministry officials did not deny the conversations, but an official downplayed their significance, saying that Indian diplomats are in “constant touch with the State Department and the White House”.
On Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller had confirmed that conversations had been held, without revealing the identity of the officials.
“We have been quite clear about our concerns about India’s relationship with Russia. We have expressed those privately, directly to the Indian government and continue to do so, and that hasn’t changed,” Mr. Miller said, in response to a question. “We have had conversations with them in the past 24 hours, and I think I’ll keep the contents of those private,” he added, when pressed for more details.
The External Affairs Ministry declined to comment on the latest remarks by the U.S. or on the U.S. statements of “concern” to Indian officials. On Tuesday, Mr. Kwatra had responded to questions about criticism from the U.S. and from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by repeating Mr. Modi’s statement to Mr. Putin that there was “no solution on the battlefield” to the Ukraine conflict.
In other comments likely to raise eyebrows in South Block, Mr. Garcetti said India and the U.S. should be open to criticising each other, especially on issues of human rights and NGOs.