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Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Friday that the United States’ ties with Pakistan are separate from its relationship with India, a position he said India also endorses.
While speaking of recent praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Donald Trump, Tharoor said the US President is conveying a message of “friendship and warmth” towards India.
Speaking to PTI news agency, the Congress leader said, “I think Trump is definitely conveying a message of friendship and warmth towards India. You know, the Americans always like to say that our relations with Pakistan have nothing to do with our relations with India. And that’s also our view that there should be no hyphenation.”
Tharoor added that India had conveyed to world leaders several years ago that any visit to New Delhi should be strictly bilateral and not combined with a visit to Pakistan. He said that US President Donald Trump also appears to reflect a similar approach.
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He further noted that while Trump often praises Pakistan and its leaders, he also does not hesitate to speak positively about India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We stopped that hyphenation business about 30 years ago by telling world leaders that when you’re coming to India, please don’t come via Pakistan. When you come to India, make it a bilateral visit. And now what Mr. Trump seems to be signaling is the same thing. Yes, he says wonderful things about Pakistan and General Asim Munir and so on, but he also says wonderful things about Mr. Modi,” he said.
Tharoor stressed that it is a reality India will have to get used to—that countries can maintain good relations with multiple partners at the same time. “And why can’t we have good relations with both? It’s a proposition we have to get used to,” he said, pointing out that India does not seek America’s approval when it engages with countries like China or Russia. In the same way, he added, the US is also free to pursue its own relationships independently.
“I mean, after all, we don’t ask the Americans when we go to China or have a meeting in Moscow or whatever. We have our own independent relationship with Russia and China, which is not mediated through America.”
However, Tharoor added he hopes that America would not do anything that will go against India’s interest.
“In the same way, let America have their own relations, but as a friend, we hope America doesn’t do anything that works against India’s interests. As long as that is the case, we have no veto on their relationship with anybody, and nor do they have a veto on our relationship with anybody. We just carry on doing our own thing as countries.”
On PM Modi’s meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Tharoor said that, according to his sources, the meeting took place in a cordial and warm atmosphere.
“It seems to have gone a long way towards warming up relations once again between the two countries, because the feedback I’ve been getting from various sources on both sides is that the meeting was conducted in a very cordial and warm atmosphere, and that Mr. Trump was particularly friendly in his statements, which has not always been the case, as you said, in the past or even last year.”
He noted that it is a reality of the world that the US remains an “indispensable” power and India cannot turn its back on it, even if it is unhappy with some American actions.
“The reality of the world is that the US is an indispensable power, and India can’t just turn its back on the US, even if there have been a couple of actions and statements that may have hurt our feelings.”
On PM Modi’s communication with Trump regarding Indian sailors killed in the conflict, Tharoor said the stand should be “appreciated by all belligerents.”
“When it comes to the Indian sailors, the Prime Minister rather forcefully made his point, both in the public speech and, I understand, privately, that you have to understand we have sailors on various ships. It was not an Indian ship, but even on other countries’ flagged vessels, there are lots of Indian crew and sailors. And as long as they are civilians doing commercial shipping, they should not be treated like combatants in a war. And I think that point is something that has to be fully appreciated by all belligerents in a conflict.”
“Fortunately, this conflict has now seen a sort of ceasefire, and they are talking about a possible formal deal that will go into a 60-day negotiating period. I think all of us, certainly India, will hope that peace will hold and that we will have a long-lasting peace in the region, in which case this question remains theoretical or academic. But as a general principle, what Mr. Modi has said is right—that seafarers should be exempt from combat attacks.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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