US envoy Garcetti miffed by India's 'strategic autonomy' after PM Modi's Russia visit

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti has once again lectured New Delhi saying there is no such thing as strategic autonomy in times of conflict. Garcetti was speaking at the Defence News Conclave organised by CUTS International. 

Garcetti's comment comes in the backdrop of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Russia and meeting President Vladimir Putin at the same time as the NATO Summit was underway in Washington. 

“I know...and I respect that India likes its strategic autonomy. But in times of conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy. We will, in crisis moments, need to know each other," said Garcetti. 

"I don’t care what title we put to it, but we will need to know that we are trusted friends, brothers and sisters, colleagues,” he added. 

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Without taking Russia's name, Garcetti urged New Delhi to take action against 'war machines' and side with the US. 

“No war is distant anymore, and we must not just stand for peace. We must take concrete actions to make sure those who don’t play by peaceful rules that their war machines cannot continue unabated. That’s something the US needs to know and that India needs to know together.”

Garcetti chalked a comparison between the India-Russia Summit, which resulted in two joint statements and nine agreements, and the Indian prime minister’s visit to Washington last June.

“We can read leaders’ agreements, as we might have done this week...look through the ones that are kind of dressed up versus the ones that have to be edited down. I was told when we had the prime minister’s visit, that a state visit that has five to 10 deliverables is a very strong visit. At our peak, we had 173 separate deliverables, that the US and India were working on together,” he said.

There was no immediate reaction from the Indian officials to the US envoy's comments but experts suggest that it may not have gone down well.

Indian government under PM Modi, throughout its 10-year regime, has maintained the ethos of keeping the nation first, which means strategic manoeuvring in diplomatic spaces.

While India maintains good yet circumspect ties with the Joe Biden administration, New Delhi is equally receptive to its traditional ally in Russia, as was evident during PM Modi's first bilateral visit to Moscow after being sworn in for his third stint.