Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday sought to ease tensions between India and Canada during a visit to New Delhi, urging the Indian government to cooperate with an ongoing investigation into the murder of a Sikh activist in Canada.
The two nations, which are both key partners of Washington, have been in a diplomatic row since the June murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused the Indian government of assassinating Nijjar, an allegation New Delhi claims is “absurd.”
Mr. Blinken, who is visiting India with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, told reporters Friday that he had discussed the situation with his Indian counterparts and requested that they take a step toward easing tensions with Canada.
“As a friend of both, we think it’s very important that India work with Canada on its investigation, and that they find a way to resolve this difference in a cooperative way,” the secretary of state said.
The India-Canada dispute has created headaches for the Biden administration, which for months has been trying to ease tensions between U.S. ally Canada and India, a South Asian powerhouse essential to Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China’s rising influence in the region.
U.S. officials have said the primary focus of Friday’s India visit by Mr. Blinken and Mr. Austin is to show confidence in India as a regional counterweight to China and seek New Delhi’s support for Washington’s backing of Israel in its ongoing war with Hamas.
They met with Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar for annual “two-plus-two” talks. Indian officials said ahead of the talks that the focus would be on defense and security cooperation between India and the U.S.
Canada’s allegation that India orchestrated the assassination of a Sikh activist on Canadian soil made global headlines in June and sparked unease over the prospect that the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be tracking and targeting dissidents overseas.
Many analysts regard the Modi government to have a Hindu nationalist bent, and to have pushed an oppressive posture toward religious minorities in India.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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