'It's not just about diplomatic ties'

Question: On India. The Indian information minister is demanding an apology for the diplomatic incident up in New York City, and he's saying that America cannot behave atrociously and get away with it. So is an apology forthcoming?

Ms Psaki: Well, Deb, I know when - in my absence - my colleague Marie discussed this quite a bit over the last couple of days. As you know, we are engaged and in touch with our Indian counterparts. The Secretary has had a call. Under Secretary Sherman has been engaged. And we're continuing the conversation with our Indian counterparts privately. We've also put out a range of statements over the past couple of days that I would certainly point you to.
 

I also wanted to point you to the comments of External Affairs Minister [Salman] Khurshid's comments where he talked about the importance of US-India relations, talked about how valuable they are. And we certainly fully agree that it's important to preserve and protect our partnership. It's not just about diplomatic ties. We have over $90 billion in bilateral trade. We're supporting thousands of jobs in both of our countries. We share very close counterterrorism cooperation. And we are engaged with India, of course, on a range of issues, including Afghanistan, which is often a hot topic in here. So we will continue these discussions through diplomatic channels, through private conversations. You've seen the range of statements we've put out this week. But beyond that, I don't have any new update for you.

Question: So no, not right now, right? At this moment?

Ms Psaki: I would just point you to the fact that we've been very engaged in this, the Secretary's been engaged, Under Secretary Sherman's been engaged. We'll continue those conversations.

Question: We shouldn't be expecting anything from [US President Barack] Obama, for example, later today?

Ms Psaki: Well, I know the President has a press conference later today, and if he's asked questions, I'm sure he'll address them, but again, I would point you back to the comments from both sides about the importance of our long-term relationship and the range of issues that we work together on.

Question: You were inside the plane when Secretary called India's National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon. What was discussed? And when did the Secretary first come to know about this issue?

Ms Psaki: I'm sorry, UN Secretary - can you speak -

Question: You were inside the plane when Secretary called India's NSA Shivshankar Menon.

Ms Psaki: Mm-hmm.

Question: What was really discussed? Can you give us more detail? What was Secretary's thought process going on?

Ms Psaki: Well, he - there's not more to add beyond the readout that we put out around the time of the call. He did the call from the plane. He also - and let me mention he's also reached out to Minister Khurshid, and we understand he was not able to be reached at the time, but he looks forward to speaking with him soon. That's not scheduled. Obviously, we're lining up schedules on that.

Question: So you're trying to set up just a phone call?

Ms Psaki: Well, yes, but also he reached out to - we reached out to him, and I believe Parliament was in session. He wasn't able - available at the time, but he looks forward to speaking with him soon when we can align the two schedules up. So there's not more to read out from the particular call he did, but he has received several briefings. He remains very engaged in this as it unfolds.

Question: And given the kind of communication that has been happening with the two countries' officials, the two countries, does it gives you a confidence that it will be resolved, that this political dialogue will continue?

Ms Psaki: Well, I'd - and I already referenced this, but I would point you to the comments of external affairs minister Khurshid's earlier today, where he talked about how valuable the India-US relationship is, how important it is, how we want to preserve and protect our partnership. And that's our view, of course, as well.

Question: Well, but he also said - he did an interview with us and he said that the charges should be dropped, and - I mean, you seem to be at a stalemate in the sense that, okay, I think there's been an acknowledgement about the way that this was - the way the arrest and the processing and everything was handled. And then there's the separate issue of the charges that are against this woman. Now, the Indians seem to be kind of lumping this all together and saying, "Well, she was treated badly and these charges are a sham, so you should just drop the whole thing," where it seems as if the US is saying, "Look, these allegations happened, a complaint has been made, charges have been filed, it has to go through the legal courts." How do you square that circle and just move forward with the Indians and this becomes a - put this in the past?

Ms Psaki: Well, I think it's accurate to say that our law enforcement authorities and the Government of India have some different interpretations of the issues and allegations at play. As you know and as Marie has referenced many times, this is now a legal case, and of course the State Department doesn't have jurisdiction over that. And we have been clear about our standing - our position of certainly standing with our judicial colleagues. So I don't have any particular update on that other than to say that this is a legal process that's working its way through. Now at the same time, to your point, we of course are closely engaged with the government of India, we're in close contact, and we want to move beyond this.

Question: Are you concerned about possible impact on your economic and trade relationship with India? And you have already some feedback from US companies, US businessmen there about difficulty they could have in India, in doing business in India.

Ms Psaki: Well, you're right that certainly, our trade relationship is vitally important. It is one of the very important components of our comprehensive partnership. I'm not aware of specific concerns or complaints addressed on that level, but it is something that we are certainly focused on, and we certainly want our relationship and all the important components to continue.

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Excerpts from a US State Department Press briefing by spokesperson Jen Psaki in Washington on December 20, 2013