‘India Will Make Its Own Judgement, but...’: Biden Warns of China-Russia Links

Biden also said that it was not in India's interest to increase its imports of energy from Russia.

The virtual meeting between PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden was held on Monday, 11 April.

(Photo: Twitter)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Joe Biden discussed India-US relations and Russia's war in Ukraine during a virtual summit on Monday, 11 April.

During the "candid exchange of views" on the war in Ukraine, the US stated that "India will make its own judgements" on the crisis. However, it added, if New Delhi saw the "tight links between China and Russia", it will "obviously impact their thinking".

PM Modi spoke of his last meeting with Biden in Washington in 2021, and reminded the latter that the India-US partnership can contribute to the solution of many global problems.

‘Natural Partners’: PM Modi to Biden

Addressing the summit, PM Modi said, “Recently, the news of killings of innocent civilians in Bucha city was very worrying. We immediately condemned it and demanded a fair investigation... We have placed importance on the safety of the civilian population in Ukraine and the uninterrupted supply of humanitarian aid to them.”

"When I came to Washington in September last year, you said that India-US partnership can contribute to the solution of many global problems. I completely agree with you. As the world's two largest and oldest democracies, we are natural partners," Modi added.

‘India is Going To Make Its Own Judgments’: US

Meanwhile, the US said, “India is going to make its own judgments.”

“You will have seen in recent days that India made some pretty strong statements in New York condemning the killings of civilians, supporting calls for an independent investigation. India is also providing humanitarian relief material to Ukraine, including medicine and other supplies. There were close consultations in early days about the Indian students that were needed to be evacuated from Ukraine. So we're going to continue these discussions with India. I think India will make its own decisions, but we're going to continue the discussions."

The White House said in a statement.

A White House official added, "We know that Russia has concerns, we know that India has concerns about the links between Russia and China. India, of course, is facing a very tense situation along the Line of Actual Control. And when India sees the tight links between China and Russia, that's obviously going to impact their thinking.”

'Not in India’s Interest': US on Energy Imports From Russia

Despite saying that India is to make its own judgements, Biden also clarified that it was not in India's interest to increase its imports of energy from Russia, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Declining to reveal if Biden asked for any specific commitments from India on energy imports, Psaki described the meeting as productive and constructive.

Psaki noted that India's imports from the US are already much bigger than their Russian imports and that the US stands ready to help India diversify. She added that the "president conveyed very clearly, that it is not in their interest to increase that".

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, when asked about Biden's push for India to cut energy imports from Russia, said that India's total purchases for the month probably "would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon".

Video Producer & Editor: Shohini Bose

‘Want To Maintain Good Ties With All the Countries’: Rajnath Singh

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking on India's dependency on Russia for spare parts and that India might face problems for the same, stated that if there will be challenges for spare parts, we have the knack to meet challenges.

He was quoted as saying, "America is our natural ally, no two-ways about it... We want to maintain good ties with all the countries."

On Tuesday, 12 April, India-US said in a joint statement, "The ministers reviewed mutual efforts to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and assessed its broader implications. They urged an immediate cessation of hostilities. The ministers unequivocally condemned civilian deaths."

The statement further read, "The minister underscored that the contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, respect for international law, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states."