PM Modi, who was on an official visit to Moscow recently, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin there and outlined their goals to eliminate non-tariff trade barriers and achieve a mutual trade volume of over USD 100 billion by 2030
Our Bureau
Washington, DC
Amid the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, the US has urged India to “utilize” its longstanding relationship with Russia and tell President Vladimir Putin to end his “illegal war” in Ukraine. The spokesperson of the US State Department, Matthew Miller, in a press briefing on Monday not only noted the strong Delhi-Moscow ties but also urged India to tell Putin to respect the UN Charter.
“So, India has a longstanding relationship with Russia. I think that’s well-known. And we have – speaking for the United States – encouraged India to utilize that relationship with Russia, that longstanding relationship and the unique position that they have, to urge President Putin to end his illegal war and to find a just peace, a lasting peace to this conflict; to tell Vladimir Putin to respect the UN Charter, to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Miller said.
He further added, “That’s what we’ll continue to impress upon the Government of India, who is an important partner of ours when it comes to their relationship with Russia.”
Miller’s remarks came in response to a media query on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Russia, which the Ukrainian President termed as a devastating blow to the peace efforts.
PM Modi, who was on an official visit to Moscow recently, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin there and outlined their goals to eliminate non-tariff trade barriers and achieve a mutual trade volume of over USD 100 billion by 2030.
The two leaders also decided to continue dialogue on the liberalization of bilateral trade, including the possibility of establishing the EAEU-India Free Trade Area, according to the Leaders’ Joint Statement released following the meeting.
They also decided to work on developing a bilateral settlement system using national currencies and the consistent introduction of digital financial instruments for mutual settlements.
In Russia, PM Modi was ceremoniously presented with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, Russia’s highest civilian honour, by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It was PM Modi’s first visit to Russia since the war started between Moscow and Kyiv in 2022. India has always advocated “peace and diplomacy” for resolving conflict between India and Russia but continued to purchase Russian oil.
The US remarks came as China and NATO are trying to deepen cooperation with ‘like-minded’ countries in the Indo-Pacific and Europe, which several analysts see as part of growing competition between the United States and China.
This comes following the NATO Summit in Washington, which announced deeper cooperation with allies in the Indo-Pacific. “[The latest development] is a standard major power competition,” Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore said.
These efforts are aimed at “finding out where are their friends and who can support their efforts,” he said. “[But] it’s pretty clear that the competition between major powers is intensifying,” he said.
During its annual summit in Washington, NATO announced it would launch four new joint projects with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. The projects will focus on deepening cooperation with the four Indo-Pacific countries on Ukraine, artificial intelligence, disinformation, and cybersecurity.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the goal is to “harness the unique strengths” of democracies to address shared global challenges.
Beijing hit back at NATO, accusing the bloc of “inciting bloc confrontation and hyping up regional tensions” by engaging with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
“These are core areas that will shape military and other forms of competition moving forward so NATO wants to establish more cooperation with like-minded democracies,” said Stephen Nagy, a regional security expert at the International Christian University in Japan.
Since NATO has labelled China as “the decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Nagy said the alliance is trying to show Beijing that it won’t back out of the global competition in key areas.
“NATO is signalling to China that they can be part of the solution, or they would be part of the problem,” he said.
On the other hand, Japan’s Foreign Press Secretary Maki Kobayashi said that while Tokyo has been working closely with NATO member states, these efforts shouldn’t be viewed as an attempt to establish a NATO in Asia.
