This will be his first visit since the beginning of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia around three years ago
world3 days ago
Canada is not trying to provoke India by suggesting it was linked to the urder of a Sikh separatist leader, but wants New Delhi to address the issue properly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.
Trudeau announced on Monday that Canadian intelligence agencies were actively pursuing credible allegations tying New Delhi's agents to the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, in British Columbia in June.
India quickly dismissed the assertion as absurd and said it was expelling a Canadian diplomat, further worsening already poor diplomatic relations between the two G20 members.
Trudeau told reporters that the case, which has derailed protracted talks on a potential bilateral trade deal, had far-reaching consequences in international law.
"The government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that, we are not looking to provoke or escalate," he said.
Canadian officials have so far declined to say what evidence they have potentially linking India to Nijjar's murder.
"We wanted to make sure that we had a solid grounding in understanding what was going on ... we wanted to make sure we were taking the time to talk with our allies," Trudeau said when asked why Ottawa had revealed its hand now.
Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside Punjab, with about 770,000 people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.
The United States and Australia expressed "deep concern" over Canada's accusations. US authorities have urged India to cooperate with the investigation, a senior State Department official told reporters at a news briefing on Tuesday.
Canada and India have been trying to boost low levels of bilateral trade, which in 2022 amounted to just C$13.7 billion ($10.2 billion) out of Canada's total of C$1.52 trillion. Both sides have announced they are freezing the talks.
ALSO READ:
This will be his first visit since the beginning of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia around three years ago
world3 days ago
The changes state that any conventional attack on Russia, aided by a nuclear power, could be considered to be a joint attack
world3 days ago
The country launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash
world4 days ago
This time around, Trump wants the Senate to give up that gatekeeping role and allow him to make 'recess appointments'
world4 days ago
Police allege the offences took place between 2001 and 2019 against 8 victims; the youngest was 17 at the time of the offence
world4 days ago
The two countries have a mutual defence treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea
world5 days ago
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger on Narendra Modi in Abuja on Sunday
world5 days ago
The titleholder's winning answer focused on using each individual's strengths
world5 days ago