Washington: Thursday brings a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the wake of diplomatic tensions between India and Canada over the assassination of a Khalistani insurgent.
The newest diplomatic issue between two of America's partners, its traditional ally Canada and India, is anticipated to come up heavily during the talks, despite officials from both sides being tight-lipped about the agenda of the meeting.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters, "I don't want to preview the conversations he (Blinken) will have in that meeting (with Jaishankar)." However, "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," Miller added.
He was answering questions on Jaishankar and Blinken's Thursday afternoon (about midnight in India) encounter at the State Department's headquarters in Foggy Bottom.
Before their meeting, the two leaders will pose for photos and likely won't answer any questions from the press.
The meeting between the two senior diplomats had been planned long before the Canadian crisis erupted, but the United States has been pressuring India to help with the inquiry into the January assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
Nijjar, 45, was shot and killed on June 18 outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, according to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In 2020, India officially labelled Nijjar a terrorist.
In retaliation for Canada expelling an Indian official, India has denied the claims as "absurd" and "motivated" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat. The Indian government has banned visa services for Canadians and has demanded that Canada take action against terrorists and anti-India elements based in the country.
Miller claimed that the topic was not raised at the New York meeting of the foreign ministers of the United States, India, Japan, and Australia.
It wasn't discussed at the meeting, which included representatives from other countries. However, "we have engaged with our Indian counterparts on this issue, and urged them to fully cooperate with the Canadian investigation," a representative for the State Department said.
After spending Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York, Jaishankar flew to Washington, DC.
The external affairs minister will meet with Blinken and other high-ranking Biden administration officials to discuss regional and global issues and review progress made between the two countries since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic State Visit in June.
The minister will also need to network with influential businesspeople and members of the diaspora.—inputs from Agencies