India has objected at various levels to the U.S. providing Pakistan assistance for its F-16s, and asked whether this $450 million sustainment package for the fighter jets came up during his talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar indicated that it did.
“I think a number of issues pertaining to our neighbourhood came up... you can guess the obvious, but I would not like to characterise the discussion in detail because it’s a discussion within a closed group,” Mr Jaishankar told the Indian press at a briefing in Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon, as he concluded his approximately 10 day visit to the U.S.
Speaking to a diaspora group on Sunday, Mr Jaishankar had said, ““You’re not fooling anybody by saying these things,” about the F-16 assistance package being given to Pakistan ostensibly for counter-terrorism reasons.
At Wednesday’s briefing Mr Jaishankar said the energy fallout of the Ukraine conflict also featured widely in his talks.
“And by the way, that was also applied to the energy scenario as well. So, in fact, that particular subject, there were a wider set of discussions and consultations involving others beyond [ the U.S. Department of ] State as well,” the Minister said, alluding to energy insecurity and energy issues caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, including a cap on energy prices being worked out by the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies.
The Minister’s meetings had included interactions with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and U.S. lawmakers. Standing beside Mr Blinken on Tuesday at a press appearance, Mr Jaishankar had said India was a $2000 per capita economy and the price of oil “is breaking our back”.
When asked about the F-16 assistance to Pakistan at a joint press appearance on Tuesday, Mr Blinken had said the planes were not new and the sustainment program was an obligation. He insisted it was to help Pakistan bolster “its capability to deal with terrorist threats emanating from Pakistan for the region”.
Mr Jaishankar, on Wednesday, said “overall” his sense was that India-US ties are “in a good place” and the relationship had “great capability and potential”. He characterized the bilateral conversation as “solid, positive, product”.
A day earlier, Mr Blinken had characterized the relationship as “simply one of the most consequential in the world”.
“It’s vital to addressing virtually every global challenge that people face, whether it’s health security, climate change, food security, upholding a free and open international order, to name just a few,” he had said.
