New Delhi: US ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith hailed the humanitarian assistance that India provided to crisis-hit Ukraine and said it appreciates calls coming from India for some sort of immediate end to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“We, both at NATO and certainly United States, welcome what India has been able to do for the people of Ukraine. We are very grateful for the humanitarian assistance that India has been able to provide which is critical right now and those needs are only growing. Certainly, appreciate calls coming from India for some sort of immediate end to the war in Ukraine. That's important,” news agency ANI quoted Smith as saying.
“We have been in constant communication with India about what more we can do together to hold Russia accountable and we have done that and worked with India. Spoken with India several times since Russia started this war inside Ukraine,” she added.
Talking about the India-United States relations, the US NATO envoy said both the nations do not always share exactly the same policy approaches, but they do share a commitment to upholding the rule-based order and ensuring that the key principles, especially as they relate to sovereignty and territorial integrity, are mutually respected.
Stressing that the NATO alliance is more open to engagement, Julianne Smith said, “Partnership between US and India as well as other Indo Pacific partners is among the most consequential one that we have. India certainly plays an important role in a free and open Indo Pacific. NATO must work more closely with like-minded countries.”
“The NATO alliance is open to more engagement. It has 40 partners. The message that has already been sent back is that the NATO alliance is open to more engagement, if India takes interest in pursuing that,” the US NATO ambassador further added.