White House Stresses Importance of India’s Role in Promoting Peace Amid Ongoing Conflict
India’s longstanding relationship with Russia positions it to urge President Vladimir Putin to cease his “brutal and unprovoked” war in Ukraine, the United States stated on Tuesday amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Moscow.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, responding to a question during a press briefing, emphasized that New Delhi is a “strategic partner with whom we engage in full and frank dialogue, including their relationship with Russia.”
Jean-Pierre stressed the importance of all countries, including India, supporting efforts “to realize an enduring and just peace” in Ukraine. “It is important for all our allies to recognize this,” she said, adding that the responsibility to end the war rests with Putin.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his dismay at seeing the leader of the world’s largest democracy embrace the “world’s most bloody criminal” in Moscow, referring to Modi’s meeting with Putin. Zelensky described Modi’s interaction with Putin as a “huge disappointment” in a post on X.
Zelensky’s remarks followed a deadly Russian assault on Ukrainian cities on Monday, which resulted in at least 38 fatalities, including four children, and left 190 others injured.
In Moscow, Modi on Tuesday addressed the issue of child casualties in conflicts during his meeting with Putin, according to the Hindustan Times. “Whether it is war, conflicts, terror attacks – every person who believes in humanity is deeply affected when there is loss of life,” Modi said. “But even in that, when innocent children are killed, when we see innocent children dying, then the heart is pierced and that pain is very horrible.”
Modi reiterated that battlefield solutions are ineffective, emphasizing, “Between bombs, guns and bullets, solutions and peace talks are not successful, and we have to find the path to peace through the medium of dialogue,” as reported by the newspaper.
On Wednesday, US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller reiterated the country’s concerns about India’s relationship with Russia during a press briefing. “We have expressed those privately, directly to the Indian government, and continue to do so, and that hasn’t changed,” Miller stated.
Meanwhile, in Washington DC, President Joe Biden opened a three-day North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting on Tuesday with a speech addressing the threats posed by Russia and other authoritarian states, as reported by The New York Times. The organization comprises an intergovernmental military alliance of 30 European and two North American countries.
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