Ukraine war: US and India to consult on easing the war's impact on global food supplies
The US and India will work together to mitigate the global insecurities generated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the White House said on Monday.
A senior administration official discussed the arrangement following a virtual meeting US President Joe Biden had with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to the official, the two agreed to cooperate and consult on easing the impacts Moscow's aggression has had on the global food supply and other commodity markets.
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India has a long-time relationship with Russia, which is its biggest military supplier. Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil have been something of a sore spot for Washington, since oil revenues help finance Russian President Vladimir Putin's war effort in Ukraine.
Only 2 per cent of India's oil imports come from Russia.
However, according to the official, who spoke on background, Biden did not ask Modi to stop those purchases, saying that while the US has banned energy imports from China, other countries must make their own choices.
On other issues, Washington and New Delhi are more in sync.
The senior official said that Modi raised concerns about the ties between Russia and China. And while India has abstained from UN votes to condemn Russia's actions in Ukraine, it has "unequivocally condemned" the alleged killings of civilians by Russian troops and supported calls for an independent investigation.
The Biden-Modi meeting preceded the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue session on Monday between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their Indian counterparts, India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The 2+2 dialogues began under the Trump administration in 2018, but this is the first one held during Biden's term.
In addition to discussing China and Ukraine, the two sides are to reiterate their determination for a "free and open Indo-Pacific" and discuss the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework - Biden's bid to re-engage the region economically.
Also on the agenda was the economic unrest India's neighbours Sri Lanka and Pakistan are facing, which has contributed to the ouster of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad.
The two sides will also mark their 75th year of diplomatic relations.
In addition to the 2+2 dialogue, India and the US are members of the Quad, an informal group including Australia and Japan that was resurrected by the Trump administration in 2017 amid rising tensions with China.
Under the Biden administration, the US has taken steps to formalise the partnership, including legislation being considered in Congress that would establish an inter-parliamentary working group for the Quad nations.
While widely seen as an attempt to blunt China's influence in Asia, the US insists that the bloc is not directed against any country in particular.
Instead, Washington says the Quad aims to uphold the "rules-based order" by enforcing freedom of navigation and trade and cooperating on a host of non-traditional security issues including pandemic relief, infrastructure projects, climate change and supply chain resiliency.
Beijing has derided the group as both "sea foam" and an "Asian Nato" bent on containing China.
But the Quad is not a defence arrangement, in part due to India's unwillingness to enter into alliances. Still, that does not preclude military cooperation between members.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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