Biden to Modi: Buying more Russian oil is not in India's interest
US President Biden warns India to buy Russian oil, which the latter continues to purchase despite the collective sanctions campaign on Russia.
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Biden to Modi: Buying more Russian oil is not in India's interest.
President Joe Biden informed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that purchasing more Russian oil was not in India's best interests and could impede the US response to the Ukraine conflict, US officials said.
Beginning an hour-long video call described by US officials as "warm" and "candid," Biden and Modi both publicly expressed rising concern about the situation within Ukraine.
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An official said Biden stopped short of making a "specific ask" of Modi on Monday, adding that India is concerned about growing connections between Russia and China.
However, he told Modi that reliance on Russian energy sources would not improve India's global standing, according to US officials.
"The president conveyed very clearly that it is not in their interest to increase that," said White House spokesperson Jen Psaki.
Jaishankar fights back
At a news conference later that day, India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar fought back against a query on India's energy purchases from Russia, saying the focus should be on Europe, not India. "Probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon."
In broad talks between the two parties, the United States seeks more help from India in condemning, and applying economic pressure on, Russia for its military operation in Ukraine.
Biden recently said that only India among the Quad group of countries was "somewhat shaky" in acting against Russia.
Read more: India rebukes US for warning against Russian oil imports
India has purchased at least 13 million barrels of Russian crude oil since the operation began in late February, enticed by deep discounts as a result of Western sanctions on Russian firms. According to Reuters data, this compares to around 16 million barrels for the entire year last year.
Psaki did not say whether India has made any pledges on energy imports, but she did say that Washington is eager to assist the country in diversifying its energy sources.
She noted Modi's words on the war on Monday, saying, "Part of our goal now is to build on it and encourage them to do even more. That is why it is critical to have leader-to-leader interactions."
Tripartite party talks
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and their Indian counterparts Jaishankar and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met in Washington.
Blinken stated that India's ties with Russia grew over decades at a period when the US was unable to be a partner to India, but that times had changed.
"Today we are able and willing to be a partner of choice with India across virtually every realm," Blinken said at a joint presser following the talks.
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According to the ministers, India's defense modernization demands were a crucial topic that the two sides discussed in depth.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the two countries have inked a bilateral agreement to support information sharing and collaboration in space.
Biden told Modi he looked forward to seeing him in Japan for a Quad meeting "on about the 24th of May" and the two leaders also discussed a range of other issues, officials said.
