Washington: The recent remarks of US advisor Daleep Singh during his trip to New Delhi, cautioning India against expecting Russia to come to its defence in case of the breach of LAC, were “abrasive”, an eminent community leader said.
Days after the high-profile visit last week, Dr Sampat Shivangi, the national president of Indian American Forum, hoped that this would not have a major impact on the Indo-US ties.
“Many in India and many Indian Americans felt that Daleep Singh’s remarks were abrasive, coming from a fellow Indian American. Hopefully, his remarks have not muddled the water as reported in Indian Media,” Mississippi-based Shivangi said in a statement.
“India is a major QUAD partner of the US and will continue to have strong ties and mutual respect and friendship in the coming days,” he added.
Singh, Deputy National Security Advisor to President Joe Biden at the White House got front-page attention as the architect of economic sanctions against Russia in its war against Ukraine, he said.
“His recent diplomatic visit to India was possibly chosen by the White House for his Indian American heritage and who can speak to Indian counterparts in their language and sway India away from Russian influence and their neutrality in Russian-Ukrainian war,” Shivangi said, adding this, however, did not happen.
During his visit to India, Daleep Singh, in his interaction with reporters, cautioned India against expecting Russia to come to the country’s defence if China were to violate the Line of Actual Control as the two countries are now in a “no limits partnership”.
“I come here in a spirit of friendship to explain the mechanisms of our sanctions, the importance of joining us to express shared resolve and advance shared interests. And yes, there are consequences to countries that actively attempt to circumvent or backfill these sanctions,” Singh had said.
PTI
