美印高層會晤討論兩個棘手問題
The United States and India will try to expand already close defense ties when senior leaders from both countries meet for their first “two plus two” dialogue Thursday in New Delhi.
The world’s two largest democracies, the United States and India, have a lot in common, including a desire to contain China. But the United States takes issue with India buying oil from Iran and its planned acquisition of a Russian missile defense system.
On his way to India, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed he will discuss the Russian missile defense system, but said shared values will allow the two countries to handle any “perturbations in stride, without alarm.”
“Freedom means that at times nations don’t agree with each other. That doesn’t mean we can’t be partners. That doesn’t mean we don’t respect the sovereignty of other nations,” Mattis said.
The talks will also include U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Indian Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Most of India’s weapons are Russian-made, a legacy of India’s Cold War relationship with the Soviet Union.
While U.S. officials say they understand India’s need to keep defense ties with Russia in order to maintain those weapons, they aim to convince India to buy more U.S. weapons in the future.
U.S. officials are also signaling more flexibility on India’s purchase of Iranian crude oil.
Starting November 4, any country buying Iranian oil could face financial penalties under sanctions reinstated after the United States unilaterally pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal.
But a senior State Department official said sanctions would be imposed on a “case-by-case” basis.
The “two plus two” meeting had been planned for last April, but was postponed after the departure of former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. It was delayed a second time after Pompeo left in June on a last-minute trip to North Korea.美國和印度兩國高層領導人星期四在新德里舉行首次“二加二”對話，努力深化雙方密切的國防關係。
美、印是世界上最大的兩個民主國家，雙方有許多共同點，包括遏制中國的願望。但美國對印度進口伊朗石油以及購買俄羅斯導彈防禦系統的計劃有不同意見。
美國國防部長馬蒂斯在前往印度途中證實將討論俄羅斯的導彈防禦系統問題，但他表示共同的價值觀將使得兩國能夠處理任何“大幅波動，但不會引起預警”。
馬蒂斯說，“自由意味着有時國家間彼此意見不一。這並不意味着我們不能成爲合作伙伴，也不意味着我們不尊重其他國家的主權“。
這次高層會談還將包括美國國務卿蓬佩奧，印度國防部長西塔拉曼和外長斯瓦拉吉。
印度的大多數武器都來自俄羅斯，這是印度與前蘇聯在冷戰時期的合作遺留下來的。
美國官員表示，理解印度爲維護這些武器而需要與俄羅斯保持防禦關係，不過他們希望說服印度在未來購買更多的美國武器。
美國官員也表示在印度購買伊朗原油的問題上有較大靈活性。
從11月4日開始，任何購買伊朗石油的國家都可能因美國單方面撤出伊朗核協議後恢復制裁而面臨經濟懲罰。
但國務院一位高級官員表示，制裁將基於“個案處理”。
美印“二加二”會議計劃於去年4月舉行，但在美國前國務卿蒂勒森離職後被推遲。今年6月蓬佩奧臨時趕赴朝鮮之後又第二次延期。
