Our comprehensive global strategic partnership with the United States gives us the space to agree, to disagree on certain issues, says MEA
India has brushed aside seemingly critical comments by US Ambassador to Eric Garcetti and some other senior US officials about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Russia by emphasising its commitment to "strategic autonomy".
 
Responding to questions at the weekly media briefing on Friday (July 19, 2024), Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "India, like many other countries, values its strategic autonomy. The US Ambassador is entitled obviously to his opinion. We also have our own and different views”.
 
"Our comprehensive global strategic partnership with the United States gives us the space to agree, to disagree on certain issues while respecting each other's view-points," Jaiswal stated.

Responding to another question on the issue, the MEA Spokesperson said, "We have a lot of issues to discuss and both sides engage with each other on several aspects of the relationship and we discuss all issues that are of interest to both parties".
 
According to MEA Spokesperson Jaiswal, the India-US partnership is an expansive world. "We have so much going on in this relationship, from defence to trade to technology to innovation to startup. We also, you know, Quad partnership," he explained. 
 
Elaborating on the subject, he said, "It is a very intense and deep relationship, and all these issues are discussed in this partnership, and we want to further strengthen them, deepen them, and take this relationship forward".

US Ambassador to India Garcetti was quoted as saying during an event that strategic autonomy cannot apply in times of conflict. Though he did not specifically refer to the Ukraine war, he remarked that no war was distant any more. The remarks raised eyebrows as they came soon after Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Moscow.
  
Replying to a separate question about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, Jaiswal referred to Prime Minister Modi’s remarks and said, “Subsequent to the attack, within hours, our Prime Minister expressed deep concerns about the attack and strongly condemned the incident,” the MEA Spokesperson said.
 
“He also pointed out that violence has no place in politics and democracies. He wished the former President a speedy recovery and expressed solidarity with the family of the deceased, those injured, and the American people,” he said.

“The US, we see them as a fellow democracy and we wish them well,” Jaiswal added.