Maldives asks India to remove troops by March 15

Formal talks on the withdrawal of Indian troops from Maldives have begun on Sunday, with the aim of withdrawing them before March 15, Maldivian government has said.

The government made the announcement at a press conference held at the President's Office on Sunday to share information on the decisions taken at a cabinet meeting.

The cabinet was provided with the latest information on the withdrawal of Indian troops, minister at the President's Office Abdulla Nazim told reporters, as a "core group" formed between Maldives and India to resolve differences met for the first time, a day after Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu hit out at India amid a diplomatic row with the island nation's closest neighbour.

President Muizzu met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of COP28 summit in December, and agreed to form a "core group" to enhance the relations between the two South Asian neighbours, governments of both countries had said at the time. 

The Indian delegation arrived at the foreign ministry around 9:30am.

According to reliable sources, India is represented at the meeting by:

Maldives is represented by:

"The meeting is going on [at the foreign ministry] since this morning. The government [or] the president has proposed to complete the withdrawal of Indian troops from the country before March 15. The President's Office [or] the president has proposed the date," he said.

"The discussions are going on."

Nazim said 11 technical level meetings had been held before Sunday's core group meeting. 

"In the case of removing Indian troops, the proposals from the Indian side were not discussed separately in the cabinet. That there will be proposals in such matters is something that is usual," Nazim said in response to a reporter's query on whether any proposal was made by the Indian side and whether the troops would be removed or not.

"Very detailed discussions have been going on since morning. I am informed that they will continue until 4-5 pm today."

Asked about the Dornier flight operation, Nazim said, "If there were military personnel involved in the operation, they would have to leave the country."

"It is okay to have civilians in it [Dornier flight operations], that's how the discussions are going now. It's too early to say what will happen next," he said.

Maldives has recently said that there are 88 Indian troops in Maldives.

President Muizzu on Saturday hit out at India amid a diplomatic row with the island nation's closest neighbour saying that the small size of Maldives is not a "licence" for anybody to "bully" the country.

The president indirectly responded to the strained relations between Maldives and India when he met reporters at the Velana International Airport (VIA) after returning from his first state visit, which was made to India's rival China.

In his statement, after announcing that he is looking for alternatives on a lot of things Maldives currently heavily relies on India for, he concluded his speech by saying in English, “We may be small, but that doesn't give you the license to bully us."

President Muizzu won the presidential election in September, ousting Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in a runoff after promising to remove Indian military presence from the Maldives.

The new government, which came to power on November 17, has formally requested India to remove its troops, with President Muizzu saying that India has agreed to withdraw the troops. 

Since then, a diplomatic row had erupted after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a video of his recent visit to Lakshadweep to promote tourism in the region.

Some Indians have said that Modi's video was released to tell people that Indians do not have to go to Maldives for holidays and can experience the beauty of Maldives while staying in their own country.

Authorities in Maldives have suspended three deputy ministers who have come under fire for their posts on X in which they are seen verbally abusing Modi and India.

The two countries have also summoned each other's envoys over the row.