President Biden on Monday said the United States and India are in "close consultation" in managing the "destabilizing" effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The president held a virtual meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, and said the U.S. and India "share a strong and growing major defense partnership."
The meeting, according to a senior administration official, lasted for an hour. The two leaders had a "very candid" conversation to discuss "a range of bilateral and global issues."
"The meeting was warm and productive and they covered a lot of ground," the official said.
The White House said that Biden and Modi "committed to strengthening the U.S.-India relationship through cooperation on clean energy, technology and military cooperation, and expanded economic and people-to-people ties."
"They emphasized their shared commitment, as leaders of the world’s largest democracies, to respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations in the Indo-Pacific and beyond," the White House said, adding that Biden and Modi also discussed the "destabilizing impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine, with a particular focus on global food supply."
"President Biden and Prime Minister Modi looked forward to meeting in person later this spring, in Tokyo, for the Quad summit," the White House said.
At the beginning of the meeting, the president detailed the partnership between the U.S. and India, saying "at the root" of the relationship is "a deep connection between our people, ties of family, friendship, and of shared values."
The president also said the U.S. and India are "going to continue our close consultation on how to manage the destabilizing effects of this Russian war," while adding that their "continued dialogue are key" to ensuring the relationship between the two nations continues to grow "deeper and stronger."
President Joe Biden meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office of the White House, Sept. 24, 2021, in Washington. (AP)
A senior administration official said that during the call between Biden and Modi, the president "took the opportunity" to discuss how the United States and India can work to mitigate "the most destabilizing impacts" of Russia’s war on Ukraine, "both on global food supply and other commodity markets."
With regard to energy, the official said that the administration has been "very clear" that while the United States has banned oil and energy imports from Russia, "other countries have to make their own choices."
"We don't think India should accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy," the official said, adding that the United States is "ready to support India" and "remain in conversation with India" about its "diversification of imports."
The official said that there was "no sort of concrete ask and concrete answer," but said the two leaders were able to "step back and have a pretty detailed and candid exchange of views."
Meanwhile, a senior administration official also said that India "has concerns about the links between Russia and China."
"India, of course, is facing a very tense situation along the lines of actual control," the official said. "And when India sees the tight links between China and Russia, that’s obviously going to impact their thinking."
The Biden administration has voiced "deep concerns" about Russia’s "alignment" with China. Intelligence officials said that the Kremlin had turned to Beijing for economic and military aid after its invasion of Ukraine Feb. 24.
President Biden had a secure video call with Chinese President Xi last month for nearly two hours in which he warned of the "consequences" should China "provide material support" to Russia amid its multi front war on Ukraine.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who met with his Chinese counterpart in Rome last month ahead of Biden and Xi’s meeting, said that the administration had not seen the "provision of military equipment by China to Russia" in the days after Biden’s meeting with Xi.
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Meanwhile, India is providing humanitarian relief to Ukraine, including medicine and other supplies.
"I want to welcome India and support for the people of Ukraine who are suffering a horrific assault, including the tragic shelling on a train station last week that killed dozens of innocent children and women and civilians attempting to flee the violence," Biden said at the beginning of their meeting.
In addition to the $1 billion in military aid the United States has sent to Ukraine, the Biden administration, last month, sent an additional $500 million in humanitarian assistance.
As for Modi, the Indian prime minister said, ahead of the meeting with Biden, that the United States and India are "two democracies" that are the world’s "largest and oldest."
"We are natural partners," Modi said, touting the "progress" in U.S.-India relations in the last several years.
"The new moment that has been created would have been hard to even imagine a few decades ago," Modi said, referring to the war in Ukraine, adding that talks with Biden are "taking place at a time when the situation in Ukraine is very worrying."
The White House also said that Biden and Modi, during the meeting, "committed to continue cooperation – bilaterally and multilaterally – on ending the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthening global health security, advancing global food security, and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific."
Russia's war on Ukraine is now on its 47th day.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that "Mariupol is destroyed, tens of thousands people [are] dead but Russians are still continuing the military operation."
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But Russia’s military on Monday is claiming to have destroyed air defense systems that were "delivered to the Kyiv regime by a European country."
Fresh images are emerging showing Ukraine’s military striking back at Russian forces in the Donbas region as its fight against Vladimir Putin’s army is shifting east.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that Moscow remains interested in peace talks with Ukraine -- but won't pause its military operations when the two sides get together.
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The development comes as Russian officials say negotiations with Zelenskyy's government have been progressing at a pace slower than they hoped for, according to Reuters.
The news agency, citing comments Lavrov made Monday to Russian state television, quoted him as saying that President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to halt operations during the first round of talks in late February.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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