The bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin in the course of the former’s latest go to to Moscow has reportedly irked a number of senior officers of the Joe Biden-led US administration, a report by Bloomberg said.
During his two-day go to, PM Modi described Russia as India’s “all-weather friend” and expressed particular appreciation for “his friend” Putin. The Prime Minister, who was conferred Russia’s highest civilian award, counseled Putin for steering the India-Russia friendship to higher heights over the past 20 years.
The Bloomberg report said that senior US officers had been pissed off with the timing of PM Modi’s Russia go to and the hug shared by Putin in the midst of the NATO Summit — which started on July 9 and concluded on July 11. Talks about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remained the hotbed subject of the summit kicked off by Biden.
US officers have expressed issues that PM Modi’s first go to to Russia because the invasion of Ukraine has sparked criticism from each inside and outdoors the American authorities concerning nearer US-India ties.
The report added that US officers had acknowledged that the go to was “difficult and uncomfortable” for the Biden administration, which had conveyed to New Delhi that the timing would complicate the ‘optics’ for Washington.
“Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke with Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra in early July hoping that the Modi-Putin encounter might be rescheduled to avoid coinciding with the NATO Summit,” the report added.
Even the US Ambassador Eric Garcetti, whereas addressing a press convention in New Delhi earlier within the day, not directly criticised the PM Modi-Putin assembly, saying that India mustn’t take the US’s friendship “for granted”.
Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan cautioned New Delhi {that a} “bet on Russia as a long-term, reliable partner is not a good bet” and Moscow would facet with Beijing over New Delhi in case of a battle.
“We’ve made clear to every country in the world, including India, that a bet on Russia as a long-term, reliable partner is not a good bet,” Sullivan mentioned.
“Russia is becoming closer to China. In fact, it’s becoming the junior partner to China. And in that way, they would side with China over India any day of the week. And, Prime Minister Modi, of course, has profound concerns about the potential for Chinese aggression against India. Which we have seen over recent years,” he added.
India has been stoutly defending its “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Russia and maintained the momentum within the ties however the Ukraine battle.
Notably, New Delhi has not but condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has persistently pitched for a decision of the battle by means of dialogue and diplomacy.
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Source: www.indiatoday.in
