US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has begun a four-day visit to India and invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House. The trip is allegedly aimed at repairing ties between Washington and New Delhi following trade frictions, particularly over India's continued purchase of Russian oil.

In New Delhi, Rubio inaugurated a new wing of the US embassy, calling it a "sign of our commitment to this important relationship." He stated that the US-India relationship is "at the cornerstone of our approach to the Indo-Pacific."

The State Department claimed that Rubio and Modi "agreed to deepen trade and defence cooperation and accelerate collaboration on critical and emerging technologies."

The visit will culminate in a meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a grouping of the US, Japan, Australia, and India, purportedly created in response to China's power in the region. The group has regularly stoked Beijing's discontent.

Despite a renewed US emphasis on India, early actions of the Trump regime have rattled ties. Last year, the US doubled tariffs on India to 50 percent over its purchase of Russian oil.

The US-Israeli war with Iran and its disruption of global energy markets have led India to continue buying Russian oil. Rubio is expected to push Modi to purchase more oil from the US and Venezuela.

Rubio pointed to "some progress" in negotiations with Iran, adding "there is a chance that, whether it's later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say." He repeated US demands for Iran to allow free passage in the Strait of Hormuz and to turn over its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.

Relations between the US and India have also been battered by warming ties between the US and Pakistan, which has been mediating US-Iran negotiations. Deeply entrenched tensions between Pakistan and India remain high.

Source: www.aljazeera.com