INDIA’S External Affairs Ministry on Friday refuted the accusation by Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly that India had violated international norms by demanding parity in the number of diplomats each country is hosting.

In a statement, it said “our actions in implementing this parity are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states the following: “In the absence of specific agreement as to the size of the mission, the receiving State may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits considered by it to be reasonable and normal, having regard to circumstances and conditions in the receiving State and to the needs of the particular mission.””

We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms.

Joly had told reporters in Ottawa on Thursday: “A unilateral revocation of diplomatic privileges and immunities is contrary to international law. It is a clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and threatening to do so is unreasonable and escalatory.”

But India’s external Affairs Ministry noted: “The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa.”

It added: “We have been engaged with the Canadian side on this over the last month in order to work out the details and modalities of its implementation.”