US President Donald Trump had declined India’s invitation to attend the Republic Day celebrations next year. As per certain sections of media, the US authorities conveyed this message to National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval in the form of a letter.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, in August, said that the US has received an invite for Trump to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations but the decision is not yet taken.
ALSO READ: Sri Lanka’s political crisis takes an ugly turn; 1 dead, 2 injured in shooting
India was informed about this several weeks ago. President Trump’s administration has said he has a ‘crowded agenda’ and can’t be in India for the Republic Day, NDTV quoted an unidentified source. The State of The Union (SOTU) address is said to be the main reason for declining the invitation.
In 2015, the then US President Barack Obama attended the Republic Day celebration and State of The Union (SOTU) address was postponed.
The timing of this event is, however, couldn’t have more unfortunate as the US India ties have under a lot of pressure because of India’s defence purchases from Russia and the threats of sanctions over oil from Iran.