Haley, Pompeo say 2+2 dialogue postponement not related to US-India ties

The External Affairs Ministry has said that 'wild speculations' over the postponement of the 2+2 dialogue should be put to rest after the clarification from the US

Senior US officials from the Trump administration on Thursday said that the postponement of the India-US 2+2 dialogue, which was earlier scheduled for July 6, was not related to any irritant in the bilateral relationship that Washington and New Delhi share.      

The External Affairs Ministry on Thursday said that "wild speculations" over the postponement of the 2+2 dialogue should be put to rest as the US has clarified that the deferment was "unrelated to (the) bilateral relationship".     

'Completely unrelated to India'

Seeking to dismiss reports that linked it to issues like sanctions against Iran and India's bid to buy the S-400 air defence system from Russia, US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley said in New Delhi on Thursday that the postponement of the 2+2 dialogue was "completely unrelated" to India.   

"Our relationship will mark a new milestone when the US and India conduct the first-ever 2+2 dialogue. The delay in that meeting was completely unrelated to India. The time and location are being rescheduled now. It will happen soon," she said in a speech on "Advancing India-US Relations" organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

In her speech, Haley, who is in India on a three-day visit, said India and a strengthened US-India partnership were at the centre of the US approach of seeking for every country -- large and small -- the ability and opportunity to interact as sovereign and equal nations.

"Perhaps no other partnership has as much potential for global peace and prosperity over the next 10, 20 or 50 years," she said, adding the 2+2 dialogue was an important sign of how much bilateral security and defence cooperation had grown in recent years and the new level of strategic confidence in the partnership. 

Her remarks came a day after Secretary of State Michael Pompeo called his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday and announced the postponement of the dialogue scheduled for July 6.

'Entirely unrelated to India-US bilateral relationship'

United States Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo has also said that the postponement of the 2+2 dialogue with India was for reasons entirely unrelated to the warm bilateral relationship that Washington and New Delhi share.  

In a statement, the US Embassy in New Delhi said: "Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo spoke last night with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to convey his regret for having to postpone the 2+2 dialogue, which had been scheduled for July 6. This scheduling change was prompted by reasons entirely unrelated to the bilateral relationship."

The statement further said, "Secretary Pompeo and Minister Swaraj agreed to reschedule the 2+2 dialogue as soon as possible. The US-India partnership is a major strategic priority for the Trump Administration. The United States remains firmly committed to a strong relationship with India." 

News reports had sought to suggest that the sudden decision by the US on Wednesday night to postpone the talks could be due to the fact that New Delhi may find it difficult to stop all oil imports from Iran beyond November this year following sanctions against Teheran on the nuclear issue.

The deferring of the 2+2 dialogue was also sought to be linked to the proposed defence deal with Russia.

But there was no official reason given for why Washington decided on the postponement except to say that there were scheduling problems.

Under the 2+2 dialogue, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were to travel to Washington to hold talks with their US counterparts Michael Pompeo and James Mattis on July 6 on bilateral issues. 

The 2+2 dialogue was announced last August following a call between Prime Minister Modi and President Donald Trump. The July 6 meeting was to focus on "strengthening strategic, security and defence cooperation".

The meeting was earlier scheduled for April but was put off when President Trump fired then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.