Secret meeting held in US by Jaishankar, Canadian FM, to address crisis: report

In the midst of the diplomatic standoff between the two nations over Canada’s allegation that India was responsible for the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canadian Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly, met in secret with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, a few days ago in Washington, according to the British newspaper Financial Times, which cited people with knowledge of the matter.

 

The meeting has not been confirmed by either the Indian or Canadian foreign ministries. The report also stated that, in response to rumours that Canadian diplomats had been set a deadline to leave India or risk losing their diplomatic immunity, the Canadian government was attempting to mend the tense diplomatic relationship with New Delhi.

 

They are working to find a private solution, the Canadian foreign minister stated earlier this month. ‘We are in touch with the Indian government. Following New Delhi’s directive to cut the diplomatic staff in India,’ the Canadian minister said, ‘We take the safety of Canadian diplomats extremely seriously and we will continue to engage in private dialogues because we believe that diplomatic engagements are best when they remain private.’

 

Announcing that Canada will continue to ‘engage responsibly and constructively with New Delhi,’ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said that his nation does not want to ‘escalate the situation’ with India.

 

According to a recent report by CTV News in Canada, the nation has transferred about 30 diplomatic staff members from India to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

 

After Trudeau claimed on September 19 that ‘potential’ Indian operatives were involved in the execution of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, relations between India and Canada deteriorated. On June 18, two masked gunmen fatally shot Nijjar, a Canadian citizen.

 

India strongly refuted the accusations, labelling them as ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated.’ In retaliation for Ottawa’s decision to expel an Indian official, New Delhi had also decided to expel a top Canadian ambassador. The External Affairs Ministry requested Ottawa cut workers last week in order to ‘reach parity’ in Canada’s diplomatic presence, citing Canada’s ‘higher diplomatic presence’ in India.