(Ottawa) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke on Wednesday of a change in relations with India since American revelations concerning the planned assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in New York.
“There is a change of tone” on the part of New Delhi, said the head of the Canadian government in an interview with CBC, the Canadian public audiovisual group.
“I think there is a beginning of understanding that they can’t get away with it. They are open to collaboration, whereas perhaps they were less open before,” he added.
Indo-Canadian relations deteriorated in mid-September when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau incriminated his intelligence services for the murder on his soil, on June 18, of a Canadian Sikh leader of Indian origin, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Accusations immediately described as “absurd” by New Delhi. A month later, Ottawa was forced to repatriate 41 diplomats based in India after New Delhi threatened to withdraw their diplomatic immunity.
But in November, India was again accused of having ordered the murder of an opponent, this time on the other side of the border: an Indian national was prosecuted in the United States for having sponsored the planned murder in New York of a Sikh separatist leader, at the instigation of an agent of his country’s government.
In this matter, the Indian government is committed to cooperation. These events undermine the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recent host of the G20, to restore his image on the international scene.
India seems to “understand that increasing attacks against Canada may not be enough to solve the problem,” explained Justin Trudeau.
“We do not want to find ourselves in a conflict situation with India. We want to work on a trade deal. We want to advance the Indo-Pacific strategy,” he said.
“But it is fundamental that Canada defends people’s rights, their security and the rule of law. And that’s what we’re going to do,” added Mr. Trudeau.
Canada and the United States are seeking closer ties with India to counter Chinese influence in the region.