India is optimistic about the talk next week with us on military cooperation even when Biden’s administration becomes more vocal in rebuke Delhi just for his reluctance to criticize the Russian war in Ukraine, people who are familiar with the problem.
The recent public statement from Washington Warning India about the consequences for purchasing weapons and oil discounts from Russia contradicts private discussions between the two parties, said people, asking for anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the conversation. They quote a conversation in New Delhi last month with the US Assistant Secretary of Victoria Nuland, which offered assistance in finding alternative weapons that could be used to fight Pakistan and Chinese neighbors.
India tells Nuland that the alternative to Russian weapons is too expensive, according to people who are familiar with this problem. In addition, Russian companies are more willing to arrange joint ventures with Indian companies that include several technology transfers, something US defense company is reluctant to do it, they said.
The US and Indian foreign ministers will meet in Washington on Monday and Tuesday for the first two-plus dialogue since Joe Biden served, India’s external ministry told weekly briefing on Thursday. Apart from defense cooperation, Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine and the next sanction will also be discussed at these meetings, said people.
Tensions between the US and India have increased in recent weeks on the reluctance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to criticize Putin, which has complicated beginner security partnerships between democracy against China’s influence.
On Wednesday, in some of the sharpest languages so far, Biden’s top economic advisor, Brian Deese, said the US had told India that the consequences of “more explicit strategic alignment” with Moscow would be “significant and long-term.”
“There must be an area where we were disappointed with Chinese and Indian decisions, in the context of invasion,” Deese, Director of the National Economic Council of the White House, told reporters.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmananyam Jaishankar Wednesday again underlined the importance of New Delhi’s bond with Moscow.
Russia is “important partners in various fields,” said Minister to Parliament. “Like all other countries, we also assess the implications of the” Russian War in Ukraine and “decide what is best for our national interests.”
MEA did not respond to Deese’s comments. However, Arindam Bagchi’s spokesman told reporters that there was no pressure on India to reduce economic relations with Russia. “