New Delhi,

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti had said a few days ago that India-US relations are deeper than ever but India should not take America's friendship lightly. His strong comment came just after PM Modi's visit to Russia which was taken as America's displeasure. Now India has responded to this comment of Garcetti.

In his weekly press conference, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said on the US ambassador's remarks that like other countries, India also values ​​its strategic autonomy. He said, 'The US ambassador has the right to express his opinion. Obviously, our views are different. Our global strategic partnership with the US also gives us the opportunity to respect disagreements on some issues.' The Foreign Ministry spokesman further said, 'India and the US regularly discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. It is not our tradition to share details of diplomatic conversations.'

Foreign Ministry on attack on Trump
During the press conference, Randhir Jaiswal also commented on the attack on former US President Donald Trump. He said, 'We are aware of the attack on Donald Trump. Within a few hours of this news coming, our Prime Minister expressed concern over the attack and strongly condemned the incident. He also said that there is no place for violence in politics and democracy. America is our ally democracy and we want its well-being.'

What did America say after being irritated by PM Modi's Russia visit?
PM Modi was on a visit to Russia between 8-10 July, which irritated the western countries. America did not like PM Modi's visit to Russia in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine war and many of its senior officials had made strong comments. America was also angry because PM Modi's visit was taking place in the middle of the NATO meeting. Regarding this, US Ambassador Garcetti had said that India should not take America's friendship for granted.

Without mentioning Modi's visit to Russia, Garcetti had said at a defence conclave in Delhi, “I know and I respect that India likes its strategic autonomy. But there is no such thing as strategic autonomy in a conflict. In a time of crisis, we need to know each other. I don't know what to call it but we need to know that we are friends, brothers, sisters and colleagues.”

The US envoy further said that in an interconnected world, 'war is not far away.' He said that one should not only stand for peace but also take strong action against those who play with peace. US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan also warned India against Russia. He said that if there is a conflict, Russia will prefer China over India.