{"id":54253,"date":"2018-07-06T14:01:46","date_gmt":"2018-07-06T21:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=54253"},"modified":"2018-07-06T14:01:46","modified_gmt":"2018-07-06T21:01:46","slug":"u-s-silent-on-reason-for-postponement-of-22-dialog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/u-s-silent-on-reason-for-postponement-of-22-dialog\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Silent on Reason for Postponement of 2+2 Dialog"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump, traveling to North Dakota, boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base June 27, in Maryland. (Brendan Smialowski\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n

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The U.S. did not spell out the \u201cunavoidable reasons,\u201d June 28, that forced the postponement of the first 2+2 dialog with India again, a development that India watchers here say was \u201cunfortunate\u201d and \u201cmore than a little embarrassing\u201d for the Trump administration, writes Lalit K. Jha.<\/b><\/p>\n

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One observer noted that President Donald Trump\u2019s preoccupation with Russia could have led to the postponement.<\/p>\n

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were to travel to Washington to take part in the meeting with Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis on July 6.<\/p>\n

This new dialog format was agreed upon between the two sides during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington in June 2017. It was seen as a vehicle to elevate the strategic relationship between the two countries with special focus on bolstering strategic, security, and defense cooperation.<\/p>\n

Safe to say that U.S.-India relations have taken their \u201cbiggest tumble\u201d in quite some time, tweeted Michael Kugelman from the Wilson Center.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Trump era, no U.S. relationship is foolproof,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is really big. 2+2 could have been used to reset a relationship experiencing growing tensions on the econ side,\u201d he said in another tweet.<\/p>\n

A State Department spokesperson told PTI that External Affairs Minister Swaraj and her American counterpart Pompeo during a phone call on June 27, agreed to reschedule the 2+2 dialog as soon as possible at a mutually convenient time and location.<\/p>\n

Pompeo spoke over phone with Swaraj on June 27 to discuss further strengthening U.S.-India cooperation. Pompeo conveyed to Swaraj \u201chis regret at the postponement\u201d of the 2+2 dialog previously scheduled to take place on July 6, the spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Secretary and Minister Swaraj agreed the 2+2 dialog would be rescheduled as soon as possible at a mutually convenient time and location,\u201d the State Department spokesperson said, hours after Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted that during the call Pompeo expressed his \u201cregret and deep disappointment\u201d at the US having to postpone the 2+2 Dialog for \u201cunavoidable reasons.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Without explaining the \u201cunavoidable reasons,\u201d the State Department Spokesperson asserted that the U.S.-India relationship was \u201ca major priority\u201d for the Trump administration, and it looks forward to continuing to strengthen the partnership.<\/p>\n

The postponement of the 2+2 talks is \u201cunfortunate and more than a little embarrassing for the United States,\u201d said Joshua T White, a former Obama administration official.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut frankly I\u2019m more worried that the growing cascade of disputes surrounding trade and investment will slowly sap momentum from this very important relationship,\u201d White, currently a fellow at the Edwin O Reischauer Center for East Asia Studies at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, told PTI.<\/p>\n

After June last year, the two countries have tried to schedule the dialog many times with several dates having been considered.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year also, the \u20182+2 dialog\u2019 had been postponed due to uncertainty over the confirmation of Pompeo as President Donald Trump\u2019s new Secretary of State. Pompeo was confirmed as Secretary of State in April.<\/p>\n

The State Department spokesperson noted that \u201cIndia\u2019s central role in U.S. national security is enshrined in the President\u2019s National Security Strategy, which noted that \u201cWe welcome India\u2019s emergence as a leading global power and stronger strategic and defense partner.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The spokesperson noted that U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, is in New Delhi right now for a visit focused on advancing the U.S.-India relationship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The postponement of the 2+2 dialog comes in the backdrop of India\u2019s plan to purchase the S-400 missile defense system from Russia, which was expected to be among the topics up for discussion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. passed the Countering America\u2019s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) against Russia in August 2017 for reportedly influencing and manipulating the 2016 presidential election process. India wants its defense deals with Russia outside the purview of the CAATSA.<\/p>\n

It also came a day after the Trump administration told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to \u201czero\u201d by November 4 or face sanctions, making it clear that there would be no waivers to anyone.<\/p>\n

Bharat Gopalaswamy from the Atlantic Council said it was \u201cnot so pleasing\u201d to see the 2+2 being called off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump, traveling to North Dakota, boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base June 27, in Maryland. (Brendan Smialowski\/AFP\/Getty Images) The U.S. did not spell out the \u201cunavoidable reasons,\u201d June 28, that forced the postponement of the first 2+2 dialog with India again, a development that India watchers here say was \u201cunfortunate\u201d…<\/p>\n

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