U.S. Hopes NSA Surveillance on BJP Not To Impact Bilateral Ties

WASHINGTON: The U.S. has expressed hope that its National Security Agency's surveillance on the BJP would not have an adverse impact on its bilateral ties with India.

"We certainly hope not," State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters yesterday when asked about the strong protest lodged by India against the spying of BJP by the NSA. BJP figured in the list of foreign political parties along with Lebanon's Amal, the Bolivarian Continental Coordinator of Venezuela, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian National Salvation Front and the Pakistan Peoples Party for whom the NSA had sought permission to carry out surveillance, according to documents made public by the Washington Post.

"We look forward to continuing discussion on a full range of bilateral and regional issues. There has been an invitation issued for a visit, and we are looking forward to that, hopefully in the fall," she said in reference to the possible September visit to the U.S. by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Psaki said American diplomats met Indian officials in this regard.

"I can confirm that diplomats from our embassy have met with their MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) counterparts on this issue, but I am not going to get into the substance of our private conversations," she said. Without directly mentioning India, she said the U.S. is talking with the Indian Government to increase confidence between the two countries on this issue.

Also Read:
BJP Snooping Row: India Summons Top U.S. Diplomat
U.S. Senators Seek Obama Administration's Intervention In Solar Panel Issue