“India and Russia share a very special partnership,” the US official said.
Washington:
The United States wants India to use its “special partnership” with Russia to put “pressure” on Moscow to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and work towards lasting peace in the region, said Margaret MacLeod, spokesperson for the US Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The US official also reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s famous quote, “This is not an era of war,” which the Prime Minister had told Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2022 SCO Summit in Bali.
Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, MacLeod said: “The US urges all its partners, including India, to pressure Russia for lasting peace in Ukraine. Russia must leave Ukraine. This is not the era of war, as Prime Minister Modi said. ) said. “
“India and Russia share a very special partnership. We want India to use this special partnership to put pressure on Russia (against the war). Russia’s war in Ukraine is a violation of the UN Charter,” she added.
When asked how the US and the West view India’s position on the Ukraine conflict, the US official said, “It would be better if you ask the Indian government about India’s position.”
“But from America’s perspective, Russia is violating Ukraine’s sovereignty. It attacks civilian infrastructure. Yesterday we saw the attack on a children’s hospital, where there were no Ukrainian soldiers… this violates the UN Charter and international law. ” she added.
More than forty children were killed on Monday in rocket attacks on a children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital. Kiev has held Moscow responsible for the attack.
Regarding the ongoing NATO summit in Washington DC, MacLeod said the alliance aims to discuss the vision for the next 75 years at this meeting. She also said that announcements of aid packages for Ukraine would be made during the summit.
“At this NATO Summit we will celebrate 75 years of peace, unity, development and innovation, and we will discuss preparations for the next 75 years,” the US official said.
“Most NATO members are in Europe, right where the war between Russia and Ukraine is going on, making it a very serious issue for them (European NATO members). A major aid package for Ukraine will be announced. We will also get an announcement from Germany for setting up a coordination cell,” she added.
The NATO summit will be held in Washington DC from 9 to 11 July.
The summit comes at a crucial time, as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which began in February 2022, has intensified and also as some cracks have emerged in NATO, amid skepticism from some European partners and comments from the former US President Donald Trump against the alliance.
This is also the first NATO Summit after the accession of two new member states: Finland and Sweden.
Speaking about the $60 price ceiling for purchasing Russian crude oil, the US official said the price ceiling has helped “lower” Russian profits and the country wants to further reduce the resources available to Moscow.
“We want to have as few resources as possible to reach Russia, because the country uses the same revenues to attack Ukraine. The price ceiling has affected Russia’s revenues, but as long as Russia is able to make money, it will continue to attack. Ukraine…so we want to limit its profits as much as possible,” MacLeod further said.
Notably, despite pressure from Western countries, India has continued to buy crude oil from Russia below the price ceiling, which several ministers and officials say has helped keep domestic prices of petrol and diesel stable.
Further, speaking about India-US ties, the US official said that ties between the two countries are very strong, adding that Washington wants to further strengthen its ties with New Delhi.
“We see that there are close relations between India and the US, we are dealing with so many issues. Sometimes we have disagreements, but we have a free, frank and open dialogue with each other. We are very positive about our relationship…our government wants to further strengthen our bilateral relationship,” she said.
When asked where India-US relations are heading given that it is an election year in the US, MacLeod said she cannot comment on her country’s domestic politics but affirmed that “historically, both parties (Republicans and Democrats) have worked to strengthen relations. with India.”
Prime Minister Modi paid a state visit to the US in June last year. Following this, President Joe Biden came to India for the G20 summit last year.
The Quad Summit between the two countries is also expected to take place in India later this year.
