India, US Aim to Stop Spread of Middle East Conflict, Promote Two-State Solution: State Dept – News18

India and the US share the goal of preventing the spread of the current conflict in the Middle East and advancing a two-state solution for Palestine, a senior State Department official said on Thursday, ahead of next week’s 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi.

US State Secretary Antony Blinken along with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will hold talks with their Indian counterparts on a number of issues, including the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The two sides would also discuss the Indo-Pacific region, Russia and Ukraine along with the bilateral issues.

2+2 Dialogue

“(The 2+2 dialogue) It allows our two countries to have high-level discussions about strategic and defense issues. In addition, the Secretary will hold meetings with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and other senior Indian officials,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu told reporters hours before Blinken left for a five-nation Asia trip.

Blinken left for Israel on Thursday, following which he would travel to Jordan, S Korea, and Japan before heading to India for the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. Speaking on Blinken’s multination trip, Lu said, “This is a key part of the Secretary’s trip to Asia. One of the many discussion points will be our cooperation with India to keep the Indo-Pacific free, open, prosperous, and secure. The leaders will also discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas and Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

Israel-Hamas War

Top US diplomat’s India trip comes in the wake of Israel’s bombing of Hamas after the militant outfit launched a massive attack on October 7 that killed 1400 people. A retaliatory military response has since claimed the lives of more than 8000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

“On Israel-Hamas, the Indian Government was direct in its condemnation of the Hamas terrorist attack and has also joined a chorus of nations, including the United States, that have called for sustained humanitarian access to Gaza. With India, we share the goals of preventing this conflict from spreading, preserving stability in the Middle East, and advancing a two-state solution, Lu said.

Talking about India-US Defence cooperation, he said, “Our intention is to encourage more collaboration to produce world-class defense equipment to meet Indian defense needs and contribute to greater global security.” “Finally, the four cabinet officials, our two secretaries, and their counterparts will also discuss our efforts to advance democracy and human rights, as well as our expanded cooperation in clean energy, counterterrorism, artificial intelligence, space, and semiconductor manufacture,” he added.

China and Indo-Pacific

While answering a question, the State Department official acknowledged that China would be one of the topics of discussion. “I think we will be interested to hear how India’s discussions with China are going related to border issues, and I’m sure our Indian counterparts will be very interested to hear about Wang Yi’s visit to the US and the announced meeting between President (Joe) Biden and President Xi (Jinping) at the APEC Summit,” he said.

On India Canada row, Lu said the US publicly and privately urged the Indian Government to cooperate with Canada on the investigation into the allegations made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “I know that we have been in constant contact with our Canadian partners, and we are hopeful that Canada’s investigation will proceed, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice,” he said.