PM Narendra Modi knows why US deferred talks with India: Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley said that the talks were cancelled for "good reasons" that had nothing to do with India.

US Ambassador to United Nations, Nikki Haley, has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows the reason for the Donald Trump administration cancelling 2+2 dialogue which was scheduled to be held in Washington next week.

Speaking to NDTV, Haley said that the talks were cancelled for reasons that had nothing to do with India, adding that the world would soon be informed about the same. She added that Prime Minister Modi is aware of the “exact reason”, which is a “very good” one.

Dismissing reports of differences between the two countries of rescheduling of the talks, Haley said that the relationship between India and US has “never been stronger”. Her remarks come a day after the US conveyed to India that it had postponed the 2+2 dialogue scheduled to be held in Washington next week, due to "unavoidable reasons".

Earlier, Haley had said that the US wants to take bilateral ties with India to the next level, adding that US President Donald Trump shares Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of nations pursuing growth "free and fearless in their choices" in the Indo-Pacific region.

Responding to a question, she also talked about the contentious issue of immigration amid an uproar over detention of scores of people in the US, including Indians, for illegally entering the country. America is a country of immigrants, but it cannot allow illegal immigration in the wake of the challenge of terrorism, Haley said.

India and the US enjoy a natural friendship that is based on their shared values and interests, the 46-year-old Indian American said. "The Trump Administration seeks to take the US-India relationship to the next level; to build a strategic partnership rooted in our common values and directed toward our common interests," she said.

Haley said India was a state with advanced nuclear technologies widely accepted around the world because it is a democracy and continues to be a responsible leader. Noting that in the last couple of years, India has joined three major nonproliferation groupings, she said the US also fully supports India's membership bid for the Nuclear Suppliers Group. "India continues to demonstrate it is a responsible steward of its nuclear technology," she said.

(With PTI Inputs)