The fact that the envoys of three friendly countries wrote an opinion piece denouncing the visit of another state leader to India is a “trade unionism type diplomacy”, said former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal. He said the representatives of the individual countries did not want to attract the ire of New Delhi and hence put the opinion piece as a “group action”. Advertisement

Sibal had earlier deemed the opinion piece “vicious” and said it breached diplomatic norms, kickstarting a debate. Thorsten Benner, Co-founder and Director, Global Public Policy Institute, said the article, however, does not address India’s foreign policy.

“Why are ambassadors accredited to India writing about the impending visit to India of Putin and castigating him if this is unconnected with India’s foreign pol

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