PM Modi must take up with Donald Trump killing of Indian seafarers: Priyanka Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up with US President Donald Trump the issue of the killing of three Indian seafarers in American attacks on ships when the two leaders meet on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France.

Prime Minister Modi and Trump are set to meet on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting in France on Wednesday. This will be the first meeting between the two leaders since February last year in Washington and comes against the backdrop of concerns over the death of Indian mariners on commercial ships targeted by the US navy in the Strait of Hormuz.

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Speaking with reporters, the Congress leader said, "Yes, I think definitely he should take it (the issue of three Indian sailors killed in US strikes) up."

"It is surprising that we are not more outspoken about what is happening," the Congress general secretary said.

The meeting between Trump and Modi will also be the first face-to-face interaction since the India-US relationship hit a rough patch after Operation Sindoor and Washington's decision to impose heavy tariffs on New Delhi.

The two leaders have had a couple of phone calls and also agreed on a framework for an interim bilateral trade deal in February, which is being negotiated.

Priyanka Gandhi's remarks come after the US said it conveyed to India that any violation of its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated.

Rubio conveyed this to Jaishankar, who spoke with him last Friday to lodge a strong protest against the death of Indian nationals in US attacks on ships off the coast of Oman.

According to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott, Secretary of State Rubio stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait.

Rubio had underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated, Pigott said in Washington.

Three vessels with Indian crew came under attack off the Oman coast last week. One of them resulted in the death of three Indian seafarers.

Jaishankar then called Rubio to protest their death in the US military strike on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

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Last week, India had also summoned US Charge d'Affaires Jason Meeks in New Delhi and told him that the American military's lethal strikes on commercial vessels with Indian crew members off the coast of Oman are unacceptable.