Canada wants private talks with India to resolve a diplomatic dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Tuesday after a report said India had asked the country to withdraw 41 diplomats. India has told Canada that it must repatriate the diplomats by Oct. 10, according to the Financial Times. Neither Joly nor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded when asked if the report was accurate. \u201cWe are in contact with the government of India. We take Canadian diplomats\u2019 safety very seriously and we will continue to engage privately because we think diplomatic conversations are best when they remain private,\u201d Joly told reporters. Ties between the two countries have become seriously strained over Canadian suspicion that Indian government agents were linked to the June murder in Canada of a Sikh separatist leader and Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom India had labelled a \u201cterrorist\u201d. India has dismissed the allegation as absurd. The Financial Times said India had threatened to revoke the diplomatic immunity of the 41 diplomats told to leave if they remained after Oct. 10. Canada has 62 diplomats in India. India suspended new visas for Canadians on September 22 and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country. Trudeau said Ottawa was not looking to escalate the dispute. \u201cWe\u2019re taking this extremely seriously, but we\u2019re going to continue to engage responsibly and constructively within with the government of India,\u201d he told reporters separately. The Indian High Commission in Ottawa did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said earlier there was a \u201cclimate of violence\u201d and an \u201catmosphere of intimidation\u201d against Indian diplomats in Canada, where the presence of Sikh separatist groups has frustrated New Delhi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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