The announcement by President Donald Trump – 7 months after he assumed office – that he’s promoting close aide Sergio Gor to be the next US ambassador is a welcome development for India, suggesting a willingness to intensify bilateral engagement at a time the relationship seems to be in a free fall. The appointment, subject to Senate confirmation, was long overdue and the fact that Gor is a part of Trump’s inner circle should facilitate a candid engagement between the 2 sides on thorny issues like trade, Trump’s handling of Pakistan, immigration and India’s ties with Russia. The announcement about Gor also raises hopes of a Trump visit to India for the Quad summit in November, even as the relationship seems headed south because of the threat of additional tariffs on India. However, the unprecedented decision to have Gor double up as a special envoy for South and Central Asia has also caused concerns about a possible overreach by Washington on India-Pakistan affairs. The announcement by Trump was greeted with muted response in India. Jaishankar didn’t comment on the US announcement about its new ambassador to India at an Economic Times event, merely saying he had read about it. Indian officials were also cagey about offering any observation, choosing to wait for more clarity to emerge about his role. This is mainly because of the US efforts to project India and Pakistan in terms of equivalence, which India saw as blurring the lines between the aggressor and the victim, following the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, and the subsequent Op Sindoor in May. These efforts have seen Trump declaring umpteen times he brokered a “ceasefire” between the 2 countries, even after PM Narendra Modi “clearly conveyed” to Trump on June 17 that neither the India-US trade deal nor any mediation proposal was discussed between the 2 sides in the build-up to the cessation of hostilities. Jaishankar reiterated Saturday it was negotiated directly between India and Pakistan after “very bad things” happened to the Pakistani airfields. India has strongly resisted past attempts by the US to assign itself any role in addressing the Kashmir issue. In 2009, the Indian government pushed back against the Obama administration, forcing it to keep India outside of the purview of Richard Holbrooke, who was appointed envoy for the Af-Pak region. Trump has offered to mediate more forcefully between the 2 countries this time and India will be alert to any attempt to use the appointment of Gor as a stepping stone by the US to impose itself on issues that India maintains can only be addressed bilaterally. As Jaishankar reiterated Saturday, there has been a national consensus for more than 50 years that India won’t accept any mediation in its relations with Pakistan.
