The British Media claimed that the Defence Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman was ignored by her British counterpart. It was reported that the Defence Minister of the United Kingdom had turned down the request of the Indian Defence Minister asking for a bilateral meet. Nirmala Sitharaman, however, has ridiculed the report which states that she was ignored.
In a Tweet, she mentioned that this report by The Sunday Times is baseless and said that she was disappointed. She claimed that the bilateral meet is still on and both the nations are working to fix a date that is mutually agreeable to both sides.
She further said that India and the United Kingdom share deep cooperations and such a report is completely baseless. Her Tweet was also retweeted then by Gavin Williamson who said that he is looking for a meeting too.
- India Succumbs; Ready to Stop Import of Iranian Oil
- India-US 2+2 Dialogue: India Needs to choose Between US or Russia and Iran
What did the report mention?
The report by The Sunday Times stated that Gavin Williamson has made an ill-judged decision by ignoring his Indian counterpart. The report said that India has one of the largest defence budgets in the world worth around $ 50 billion and Williamson had angered India by ignoring the defence minister.
The report also claimed that Gavin Williamson, the Defence Minister of the United Kingdom was lashed out at by other ministers in the UK cabinet for ignoring India. So, is the Tweet by Nirmala Sitharaman nothing but a damage control activity?
UK’s ignorance after the US
As reported earlier by EurAsian Times, In a big setback to India-US Relations, The US had called off the 2+2 Dialogue scheduled for July 6. This is being perceived as an outcome of the widening rift in India-US Ties. This is for the second time that the US has postponed the 2+2 dialogue which was initially scheduled for March. India’s foreign policy seems in some trouble now.
Other News at EurAsian Times
- Japan to Partner India to Counter Rising China Military Power
- Can there be a China-India Oil Alliance amid Differences?
- High Risk for Companies Investing in One Belt One Road Projects (OBOR)?
- From Asia to Africa, India-Japan Defence Partnership Aggressively Countering China
- CPEC Loan to Pakistan Soars to Whopping $62B: ADB
