Working very closely with India: US praises New Delhi's efforts in restoring peace in Ukraine

Washington, Jan 07: The United States on Friday said that it agrees with India that the restoration of an enduring peace in Ukraine is essential.

A Biden administration spokesperson said that it is engaging very closely with its allies and partners, including India, on the conflict in Ukraine. "We agree very much with India that the restoration of an enduring peace in Ukraine is essential. This is the same message that President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy himself has issued. During the G-20, he spoke to the assembled world leaders, laid out his vision for a just peace. This is something that we very much welcome," he told reporters at his daily news conference on Friday.

"We do welcome India's support for the people of Ukraine. India has provided humanitarian assistance and calls by India for an immediate end to Russia's brutal war against Ukraine. We also very much agree with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's assertion that today's era is not an era of war. Of course, that was a comment that was echoed at the G-20. We've heard that comment at the UN as well," he said.

The spokesperson stated that the US believes that countries countries such as India which have a relationship with Russia and with Ukraine may be in a position to help bring about dialogue and diplomacy that could one day put an end to this war, Price said. "I say one day, and I put this in the conditional because there is one country that of course has demonstrated no willingness to put an end to this war, to end the brutal aggression, and that, of course, is Russia," the State Department official said.

Even in the context of recent discussions, "we took note of the Kremlin statement that the Kremlin is willing to engage in dialogue, but only if the new territorial realities are recognised", he said. Responding to a question, Price said the United States is engaging very closely with all of our allies and partners around the world on the question of Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine.

"Of course, that includes India. The international community firmly recognises the need to hold Russia to account for the atrocities that it has committed and that its forces are committing in Ukraine," he said. "Russia's war has affected not only Ukraine. As important as Ukraine is and this conflict, this war that Russia is perpetrating against Ukraine is, this is much bigger in a sense. It has affected countries around the world in any number of ways," Price said.

India has been pushing for dialogue and diplomacy between the warring nations. However, it has refused to condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine at UNSC.

"We may not always share precisely the same policy approaches, but we both share a commitment to upholding a rules-based international order that respects territorial integrity and sovereignty," the spokesperson said. This is at the heart of the United States' global strategic partnership with India, and it is at the heart of what "we seek to do with the quad, with the other bilateral and multilateral work we do with our Indian partners", Price said.

Although western media had initially criticised India's stand for not condemning Russia after it declared war against Ukraine, India's consistent position on the Ukraine conflict, calling for the cessation of violence and pursuit of diplomacy, has been hailed of late from both sides.

Notably, the US media had praised PM Modi for telling Putin that "today's era is not an era of war" during his meeting with the Russian President held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. However, India has abstained from various procedural votes relating to the conflict since the war began.

With inputs from PTI

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