New Delhi: The United States Department of State on Wednesday said that Russia should hear from countries like India that have “economic, diplomatic, and social might”, reported news agency ANI. Speaking at a press conference, US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said, “India reaffirms that it stands against this war, it wants to see diplomacy, dialogue and an end to this war. It is important that the Russians hear that message from countries like India that have economic, diplomatic, social and political might.”
Reacting to comments by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his visit to Russia, Price said “The messages we heard from Foreign Minister Jaishankar in Russia were not dissimilar in some ways from what we heard from Prime Minister Modi at the UN, when he made it very clear that this is not an era of war.”
“India, again, reaffirmed that it stands against this war, that it wants to see dialogue, it wants to see diplomacy, it wants to see an end to this needless bloodshed that Russia is responsible for inside of Ukraine,” he added.
We have sought to deepen our partnership with India in every sector, including when it comes to economics, including when it comes to our security ties, including when it comes to our military cooperation as well, Price said during the press conference.
On being asked if any country can have trade ties with Russia by just condemning the war, Price said, “No, to be very clear, we’ve been intentional about exempting oil and gas – the energy sector – from the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia. So the fact that India has high demand for energy, that it continues to seek oil and other forms of energy from Russia – that is not something that runs afoul of the sanctions that have been imposed.