U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met their Indian counterparts Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman, ahead of high level bilateral talks between the four of them. The 2+2 meeting aimed to “broaden and deepen strategic ties” between the two countries, and sought to finalize a defense accord between Washington and New Delhi, that could bring the two countries’ militaries closer, amid growing Chinese influence across Asia. Among others, India sought to reach a landmark military communications agreement, laying the ground for Washington to sell sensitive defense equipment. That said, the deal is subject to India’s compliance with the sanctions Washington reimposed on the Islamic Republic, after last month, an Indian official declared that New Delhi would not stop Iranian imports but would finalize its strategy on crude purchases after talks this week. Meanwhile, a senior U.S. State Department official said this morning that the U.S. and India are engaged in “very detailed conversations” over Washington’s request to completely stop India’s oil imports from Iran.
