India's Russia missile purchase, Iran won't be focus of 2+2 meet: Pompeo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that India's proposed purchase of Russia's S-400 missile defence system and its ties with Iran will not be the main focus of the first 2+2 Strategic Dialogue between the two countries this week.

Pompeo and US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis are scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi for the high-level talks.

Describing India as a "true strategic partner", Pompeo said the discussions would focus primarily on broader issues that could shape the relationship between the two countries for decades.

"We have a true strategic partner who, frankly, is our only major defence partner... with whom we have a great relationship and who is very important to our success in our Indo-Pacific strategy," Pompeo told reporters travelling with him to India, according to a transcript released by the US State Department.

He said Washington wanted to expand cooperation with India across diplomatic, military and commercial areas, adding that there were several issues on the agenda where both sides hoped to make progress.

The 2+2 dialogue, which was agreed upon by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump during their meeting in Washington in 2017, had already been postponed twice at the request of the US.

Pompeo said the first postponement in April came while he was taking over as Secretary of State from Rex Tillerson. The second postponement, in July, occurred because he had to travel to Pyongyang following Trump's decision to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Pompeo said India's ties with Iran and its planned acquisition of the S-400 system from Russia would certainly be discussed during the meeting, but neither issue was expected to dominate the talks.

"Those decisions are important to the relationship for sure, but I don't see us resolving those during this set of meetings of the Strategic Dialogue," he said.

India is planning to purchase five S-400 Triumf air defence systems from Russia under a deal estimated at around Rs 40,000 crore. The proposed purchase has attracted attention in Washington because US sanctions legislation targets major defence transactions with Russia.

India's relationship with Iran is another sensitive issue, particularly because the Trump administration has been pushing countries to reduce economic engagement with Tehran after the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement.

India, meanwhile, has indicated its intention to continue importing Iranian crude, making the issue an important part of the wider US-India diplomatic conversation.

The dialogue comes against the backdrop of Washington's growing emphasis on the Indo-Pacific, where the US sees India as an important strategic partner amid China's expanding influence. Pompeo said the two countries would seek to build a relationship based on long-term strategic, defence and economic cooperation rather than allowing individual disagreements to overshadow the broader partnership.