Ukraine war: India to face significant cost if aligned with Russia, US warns

Name: Why India is walking a diplomatic tightrope over Ukraine-Russia crisis
Uploaded: 2022-04-06T21:30:16.000Z
Duration: 5 min 58 s
Description: Why India is walking a diplomatic tightrope over Ukraine-Russia crisis

New Delhi’s reaction to the invasion is complicating its relationship with Washington, which regards it as a partner in countering China’s influence in Asia

While the US, EU, Australia and Japan have piled economic sanctions onto Russia, India has declined and instead has sought to continue imports of Russian oil

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Soldiers in Russian-made T-90 tanks celebrate India’s 73rd Army Day in New Delhi in January 2021. India is the world’s largest buyer of Russian weapons. Photo: AFP

Bloomberg

Published: 5:30am, 7 Apr 2022Updated: 4:03pm, 7 Apr 2022

US President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser said the administration has warned India against aligning itself with Russia, and that US officials have been “disappointed” with some of New Delhi’s reaction to the Ukraine invasion.

“There are certainly areas where we have been disappointed by both China and India’s decisions, in the context of the invasion,” the director of the White House National Economic Council, Brian Deese, told reporters at a breakfast on Wednesday hosted by The Christian Science Monitor.

The US has told India that the consequences of a “more explicit strategic alignment” with Moscow would be “significant and long-term”, he said.

While the US, Europe, Australia and Japan have piled economic sanctions onto Russia in response to its war against Ukraine, India has declined and instead has sought to continue imports of Russian oil.

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Why India is walking a diplomatic tightrope over Ukraine-Russia crisis

New Delhi’s reaction to the invasion is complicating its relationship with Washington, where India is regarded as an important partner in countering Chinese influence in Asia.