They say it takes two to tango. But what happens if one of the partners suddenly decides to dance to a different tune? That appears to be the case with the 2+2 Dialogue between India and the US, which was postponed for the second time last week. The idea behind the dialogue between the defence and foreign ministers of the two nations, mooted during PM Modi’s meeting with US president Donald Trump at the White House in June 2017, was to build a relationship at the highest levels to quickly resolve pending issues.
Originally scheduled for April, the meeting was postponed when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson resigned and was replaced by former CIA chief Mike Pompeo. The meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with their US counterparts Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis was then set for July 6 in Washington. But on June 27, even as US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley was lauding the bilateral relationship at an event in Delhi, Pompeo called Swaraj to postpone the date once again. Both sides insisted—perhaps a bit too vehemently—that this was a just a scheduling issue.
So what led to the postponement? Was it the upcoming one-on-one summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for July 16 in Helsinki? Then came reports that Pompeo suddenly needed to see some senior North Korean official on that very date set for the 2+2. So did the US postpone a pre-scheduled meeting with senior Indian officials because a tinpot dictator’s aide couldn’t wait?
Or was it just unprepared for the laundry list of questions that India plans to place on the table? Among other things, these include the impact of US sanctions on Iran and Russia on India’s energy and weapons imports, the trade tariffs imposed by Trump which led to counter-tariffs by India, and the visa restrictions which affect Indians working or hoping to work in the US. One can only wait to see whether the two sides kiss and make up at the next date, or whether it will be the last waltz.
