NEW DELHI, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The United States has postponed the "2+2" dialogue with India that was scheduled to be held in Washington next week, Indian officials said Thursday.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj "to express his regret and deep disappointment at the US having to postpone the 2+2 Dialogue for unavoidable reasons," India's foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar wrote on twitter.

The spokesman did not elaborate on the "unavoidable reasons" but said both sides agreed to identify new mutually convenient dates to hold the dialogue "at the earliest, in India or the U.S."

According to Indian officials, Swaraj and Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were to travel to the United States to take part in the meeting with Pompeo and U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis on July 6.

The "2+2" dialogue format was agreed upon between the two countries during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington last year.