India’s position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict was analyzed from the US perspective by Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs. The top US diplomat for the area emphasized that the US hopes India will use its clout with Russia to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine but does not believe India will soon sever ties with Russia.
When discussing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming trip to India, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan with reporters, the senior US official made these remarks. “It’s clear to us that the countries of Central Asia and India have had long, complex relations with Russia,” Lu said in response to a query about the three countries being among the 32 nations that voted against Russia-Ukraine on Thursday at the UN General Assembly.
However, Lu added, “We are talking to them about the role they can play in this conflict. I don’t believe they’ll end those relations anytime soon.
India opted not to participate in the UN General Assembly’s vote on a resolution that stressed the need for a “comprehensive, just, and lasting peace” in Ukraine that adhered to the UN Charter’s tenets. Reiterating the US’s support for Ukraine, the US official stressed the significance of defining the values of the UN Charter at a global level.
“We may not always have the same perspective on Ukraine,” Lu stated, “but I think we do share the goal that this conflict ends and that it ends in accordance with the principles in the U.N. charter.”
The top American diplomat expressed hope that India would use its clout with Russia to back a resolution to the conflict.
As of December 1, India presided over the G20.
Blinken will on March 1 travel to New Delhi to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which will focus on strengthening multilateralism and deepening cooperation on food and energy security, sustainable development, counter-narcotics, global health, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, gender equality and women’s empowerment, the US State Department recently said in a statement.
He will meet with members of the Indian government and the civil society, it continued, “to reaffirm our strong partnership.”
One of the most important G20 gatherings is the upcoming meeting of foreign ministers, which is scheduled for March. With the G20 being a highly representative organization and the war in Ukraine having reached its one-year mark, India will concentrate on the reasons why the G20 was established during its presidency.
Countries are looking to India, which is currently in the chair, to bring economic stability, particularly at a time when multilateral organizations like the UN and UNSC, whose job it is to keep peace and security, are struggling. The FMM will have a full program for a meeting that will only last a few days. Even though a group photo op with all the foreign ministers is doubtful, there will be several discussions on March 2.
Blinken will attend the gathering of the foreign ministers from the Group of 20 (G20), which also includes China and Russia. Regarding the likelihood that Blinken will meet in New Delhi with either Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov or Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, U.S. officials have remained mum.
According to deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel, “a major multilateral summit like the G-20 lends itself to the potential for bilateral engagements on the margins, but we don’t have any specific scheduling updates to offer.” Patel went on to say that “the United States thinks it’s important to keep the lines of communication open.”
Highlighting the unsustainable debt levels affecting the viability of many countries and the erosion of trust in international financial institutions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged the leading economies and monetary systems of the world to bring back stability, confidence and growth to the global economy.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a video greeting to the first gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors under India’s G20 Presidency.
