There is room for diplomacy: Jaishankar on India-Canada row

PTI

New Delhi, November 4

There is room for diplomacy to address the diplomatic row between India and Canada, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday as the ties between the two sides remained strained following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of a Khalistani separatist.

Talks held with Italy to advance ties

• Jaishankar met Italian President Sergio Mattarella and other senior leaders here and discussed ways to further develop the bilateral strategic partnership in areas like defence, cyber security and counter-terrorism.
• The Italian president reiterated his support for deepening India-Italy and India-European Union linkages

At an event here, the minister said both sides had been in touch and hoped that a way would be found to resolve the row. At the same time, he asserted that "sovereignty and sensitivity" cannot be one-way streets.

"My hope certainly would be that we find a way...Sovereignty, sensitivity -- these cannot be one-way streets. They may have their concerns. I have never ever with any country said that I am not willing to talk to them about their legitimate concerns," he said.

"But it cannot be that the conversation is completely dismissive of my concerns and my sensitivities," he added.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Trudeau's allegations in September over the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June in the Canadian town of Surrey. Days after Trudeau's allegations, India announced temporarily suspending issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country to ensure parity. Canada has already withdrawn 41 diplomats and their kin from India. Jaishankar explained India's overall proposition that he said could apply to Canada as well.

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