Canada wants pvt talks with India: FM

Canada wants private talks with India to resolve a diplomatic dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Tuesday, after a report said India had asked the country to withdraw 41 diplomats.

India has told Canada that it must repatriate the diplomats by October 10, according to the Financial Times. Neither Joly nor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded when asked if the report was accurate.

“We are in contact with the government of India. We take Canadian diplomats’ safety very seriously and we will continue to engage privately because we think diplomatic conversations are best when they remain private,” Joly told reporters.

Ties between the two countries have become seriously strained over Canadian suspicion that Indian government agents were linked to the June murder in Canada of a Sikh separatist leader and Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who India had labeled a “terrorist”.

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