India hopeful of solution despite US' refusal to drop case

Devyani Khobragade was arrested and handcuffed in public in New York on visa fraud charges last week

India today said entire gamut of Indo-US ties needs to be kept in mind by both sides while dealing with the case against its diplomat Devyani Khobragade and hoped that the matter will be resolved despite US refusing to accept its demand of withdrawing charges against her.

Terming as "valuable" the bilateral ties, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said India was conscious of this while dealing with the "hurtful" and "unacceptable" treatment meted out to its diplomat in New York.

"I am conscious of the fact that this is a valuable relationship between two countries. A relationship in which enormous investments have been made not just by governments alone, but by private sector, by groups of individuals, by organisations and I think when we deal with each other we have to keep that entire gamut of different dimensions of our relationship in mind," he said.

"I think that goes for both of us. We are conscious of this. I am sure they are equally conscious of this. We think it is important to preserve that relationship. I am sure they think as well that it is important to preserve the relationship," he said.

"The only question is what you do when something happens that is irksome, that is hurtful, that is unacceptable. We are going to find a solution. And I hope that we will find a solution," he said.

A 1999-batch IFS officer, Khobragade was arrested on December 12 on visa fraud charges as she was dropping her daughter to school and released on a $250,000 bond after pleading not guilty in court.

The ill-treatment of its diplomat evoked a sharp reaction from India which initiated a slew of steps to downgrade the privileges enjoyed by the US diplomats and their families including withdrawing airport passes and stopping import clearances.

The External Affairs Minister refused to comment on the US's refusal to withdraw charges against Khobragade and said talks are going on between the two sides.