US President Biden Assails India’s Response to Ukraine Crisis, Calls It Shaky
US President Joe Biden has assailed the response of India to the current Ukraine crisis and called India’s response ‘Shaky.’ However, he was quick to praise NATO and QUAD. QUAD is a four-nation group and comprises the US, Australia, India, and Japan. While the US, Japan, and Australia have been very vocal in condemning the Russian aggression, India has been guarded in its response. While it has condemned the aggression, it has stopped short of condemning Russia and has asked for the dispute to be resolved by talks.
The Japanese Prime Minister has been on a three-day visit to India. In the joint statement, both the leaders have called for an immediate end to the hostilities. However, the West and the US are pressuring India to play a more proactive role in the conflict.
India Rebuffs US Pressure, Buys Cheap Russian Oil
The US also asked India not to buy cheap Crude Oil being offered, but India has rebuffed and went on to buy more than 3 million barrels of oil from Russia. India has asked the world powers not to politicize the purchase of oil. India also reminded that it does not need sermons from nations self-sufficient in oil. India fulfills 80% of its energy needs by imports.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki had told a briefing: “We have been in touch, of course, with Indian leaders at a range of levels, not through the President (Joe Biden). So if that happens, we will, of course, provide that information to all of you.”
India has to a delicate balancing act. 70% of India’s military hardware is of Russian origin. Russia has also supported India in the UN and did not condemn the Nuclear Test by India in the nineties. Most nations, including Ukraine, had condemned India for the nuclear tests. The Indi Russia strategic partnership is deep and very old. However, Indi does not want to be at loggerheads with the rest. India’s Russian trade is a drop in the billions of dollars worth of trade with India’s rest of the world. Hence the best alternative will be to tread a middle path and use its offices to bring the two warring nations to the negotiation table.
