We hope to work closely with India to end Russian aggression: US

Washington:

The United States has expressed hope that it can work with India to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a press conference on March 2. .

Responding to a question about the role India can play in ending the ongoing conflict, Price said: “India has the ability that we have seen from Prime Minister Modi to speak with tremendous moral clarity. When Prime Minister Modi last year said “is not an era of war” the world listened as they should because when Prime Minister Modi and his country said something to that effect, it made sense for the United States, it makes sense for Russia, it’s useful for countries near and far.”

“We will continue to work with our Indian partners, who obviously have a unique role to play in this as the host of the G20. But also as a country with which we have a global strategic partnership and a country that has a unique relationship with Russia that we do not do and just as India has consistently said this is not an era of war and should not be,” he added.

He said: “We hope that we can work closely with India to end this war, end this Russian aggression to an end that is just tolerable at its core and very much in line with the principles in the UN Charter.” Price said India has longstanding and historic ties to Russia and is connected to Russia in many ways that the US does not.”

Price said India has ties to Russia that differ from US ties to Moscow. He stressed that India has huge influence in various sectors including economic, political and moral influence.

“There are countries around the world that have a different relationship with Russia than we do. India certainly falls into that category. India has long-standing, historical ties with Russia. It is connected to Russia in a way that the United States has not and By the way, it hasn’t been. India also has a huge influence in different areas, be it economic influence, diplomatic influence, political influence, but also moral influence,” said Ned Price.

During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last year on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Prime Minister Modi said: “The current era is not a war and I spoke to you about it on the call.” India in particular has consistently called for dialogue to end the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to reverse Moscow’s “irresponsible decision” and return to implementing the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treat) treaty. for the reduction of nuclear weapons.

“I spoke briefly with Russian FM Lavrov today,” Blinken said, confirming he had met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 in New Delhi on Thursday.

“I have urged Russia to reverse its irresponsible decision and return to the implementation of the New START, which sets verifiable limits on the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Russian Federation. Mutual compliance is in the interest of both of our countries. It is also what people around us the world expects of us as nuclear powers,” Blinken added.

He went on to say: “I have told the Secretary of State that no matter what happens in the world or in our relationship, the United States will always be ready to participate in and take action against strategic arms control, just as the United States States and the Soviet Union did even at the height of the Cold War.”

The meeting was the first face-to-face meeting between the two foreign ministers since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that began more than a year ago and led to a rift between Western countries and Russia. He said that every country continues to bear the cost of Russian aggression.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)