US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had talked about human rights of minorities in India during his meeting with Cabinet Ministers here during his ongoing visit. It was important for partners to have “those kinds of discussions,” he said.
In an interaction with media, “We have to remember that India is our partner, a partner whose partnership we value. And I think partners need to be able to have those kinds of discussions. And certainly, we feel comfortable doing that. And you can have those discussions in a very meaningful way and make progress.” he added.
His response came in the backdrop of US Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee mentioning about “the deteriorating situation of democracy in India.”
Austin said President Jo Biden has said human rights and rule of law are important to the US.
Ahead of his visit, Austin was asked to raise concerns about democracy in the country with Indian officials by the chief of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The visiting dignitary also said he did not discuss with India possible US sanctions over India’s acquisition of S-400 missile system from Russia. Austin said India has not acquired the missile system so far, so the issue of sanctions was not discussed.