In October 2018, India had signed a US$ 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has met top Biden administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman, and held substantive discussions with them on the strategic bilateral ties and regional and global issues like the current situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized Kabul.
The Congress party has claimed credit for the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, from the US, saying the Modi government did not initiate the process and merely benefited from the "mature, consistent and strategic diplomacy" begun under the UPA. Former Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government did not secure any breakthrough to make the extradition possible, nor is it the result of any grandstanding. He added that it was a testament to what the Indian state can achieve when diplomacy, law enforcement and international cooperation are pursued sincerely and without any kind of chest-thumping. Chidambaram detailed the UPA government's efforts in securing Rana's extradition, citing the registration of a case against him in 2009, diplomatic pressure on Canada and the US, and continued efforts despite legal setbacks. He highlighted the role of the UPA in securing Rana's conviction for other terrorism-related offences and the cooperation between the US and Indian agencies in gathering evidence and securing his extradition. The Congress leader further stated that it was the UPA's groundwork that paved the way for Rana's extradition, even after the change in government in 2014.
Deputy Secretary of State William Burns has echoed under secretary of state for political affairs Wendy Sherman's belief that Indians and Americans should consider themselves fortunate and thankful to have a diplomat in the caliber of Nirupama Rao in Washington, DC.
India's security concerns will be the "first and foremost" and at the"front and centre" for Washington, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Wednesday on New Delhi's apprehensions about the spill over of terrorist activity from Afghanistan.
Both Indians and Americans have to consider themselves fortunate and thankful to have a diplomat of the caliber of Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao posted in Washington and driving the burgeoning United States-India strategic partnership, a senior State Department official has said.
Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai is expected to meet United States Secretary of State John Kerry during his scheduled visit to Washington on February 20 - 22.
"This initiative is designed to enhance our outreach to the Iranian people, notwithstanding the lack of diplomatic ties between our two governments," Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman told media persons at the launch of the website, which is both in English and Persian.
On the fourth anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai terror strike, US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman says Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Coleman Headley's extradition to India is under consideration in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN
The message was conveyed by the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman, in a meeting with the Indian Ambassador to the US, Nirupama Rao, on July 18, according to an embassy statement issued on Thursday
The United States has announced a bounty of $ 10 million for the capture of or information leading to the capture of 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
China has operated a fleet of spy balloons targeting several countries including India and Japan, a media report has said, days after the United States military shot down a Chinese surveillance craft floating over sensitive installations in the country.
The US is making investments in defence ties with India to uphold a favourable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers Thursday indicating that strengthening ties with New Delhi is one of the key factors to address the pacing challenge from China.
India on Thursday condemned Omar's visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The remarks of the top Biden administration officials this week came amid growing disquiet in Western capitals over India's refusal to directly condemn the Russian aggression in Ukraine and its decision to procure discounted Russian oil.
According to the tentative plan, September 23-24 is being worked as the expected dates for Modi's US visit.
The United States wants India to wait for a final nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers before actively engaging with Tehran.
China has 'violated the sovereignty' of not just the United States but of countries across five continents, Secretary of State Antony Blinken alleged Wednesday, days after US fighter jets shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon.
'Thirteen years have passed since the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai. On today's anniversary, we remember the victims, including six Americans, and the resiliency of Mumbaikars. It is long overdue for the perpetrators to face justice,' Blinken said in a tweet on Friday.
Blinkin said the US will engage with the Taliban not on the basis of what a Taliban-led government says, but what it does to live up to its commitments.
The US has already imposed sanctions on Turkey for the purchase of a batch of S-400 missile defence systems.
The meeting of the foreign ministers of the P5+1 nations aimed to smoothen out major bumps in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran has ended with a positive note.
Talks between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to improve the relations got off on a rough note at the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin, with Xie launching a blistering attack on Washington, accusing it of being the "owner of coercive diplomacy".
At scaling back Tehran's nuclear programme and relieving the Islamic Republic from the sanctions
India on Friday spoke in conciliatory language on the issue of its senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade case, saying that it was important to "preserve" the "valuable" bilateral relationship even as the United States ruled out the demand for dropping of the charges against her.
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Xi's visit to Nyingchi, bordering Arunachal Pradesh, signals China's opening of another front to India in the eastern sector, observes Srikanth Kondapalli, the leading China expert.
S Jaishankar, the new Indian ambassador to the United States, on Thursday met top officials of the State Department to convey India's strong protest over the arrest of its senior diplomat in New York over visa fraud charges, even though she had diplomatic immunity.
There is no better way to address the security threat emanating from ISIS and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan than by co-opting the Taliban, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Russia and China are tight-fisted and Iran is broke and none of them has the political will or capacity to bankroll the Afghan economy, which only the US can, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Taliban knows that Washington holds the key, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Aziz Haniffa reports from Washignton, DC, on Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh's three-day visit to the US capital.
'When you look at the border -- from Ladakh to Arunachal -- which is called the Sino-Indian border, but in effect it is actually the Indo-Tibet border.' 'Since the borders are still not secure, it has resulted in transgressions in Galwan, Dokalam etc.'
The investigations into and actions being taken by the US State Department's Diplomatic Security Service against Devyani Khobragade were not shared with Secretary of State John F Kerry, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, or Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Nisha Desai Biswal, reveals Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa from Washington, DC.
We understand the electoral compulsions, the desperate need for the BJP to have at least 50 per cent of the Hindus vote for them in Uttar Pradesh in a few months. For that, you need polarisation, put your own Muslim compatriots on the 'other' side. This is how your domestic politics runs contrary to your national, strategic interest, warns Shekhar Gupta.
A senior White House official has said that she cannot 'predict' when President Joe Biden would make a call to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan though there has been high-level engagements between the two countries.
Indian Ambassador to the United States Dr S Jaishankar told Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa that it was "a very nice meeting and President Barack Obama was extremely cordial."
The United States has ruled out acceding to either of the two Indian demands --withdrawal of charges against its diplomat Devyani Khobragade, and an apology for alleged mistreatment, after her arrest in New York last week.
From being on the verge of war and violence, West Asia has actually got a sudden reprieve. Seema Mustafa explains
'If at all,' says Suhasini Haidar, Foreign Affairs Editor, CNN-IBN, 'Devyani Khobragade is to avoid facing a full trial, the process of that negotiation must start immediately, for which the current acrimonious atmosphere must be improved. It is no more than the US was willing to do for Raymond Davis; the Italian government for its sailors; and India for Captain Sunil James and Vijayan in Togo. Devyani Khobragade is not accused of charges anywhere as serious they were, and whether Preet Bharara's office recognises it or not, she is a diplomat who represents a proud country that has taken the insult to her as a personal insult to the country.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances