The US has expressed hope that India, which is committed to a rules-based international order, will stand by its side in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, which, according to the Biden administration, was carried out by Moscow on the border with Ukraine recently. Adding troops seems imminent. Day.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday that Russia and Ukraine were discussed during the recently concluded Quad ministerial meeting in Melbourne that included foreign ministers from Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
He said there was “strong agreement” at that meeting that a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis was needed.
“One of the main tenants of the Quad is the strengthening of the rules-based international order. And it is a rules-based order that is equally applicable in the Indo-Pacific as it does in Europe, as it does elsewhere. We know that our Indian partners are committed to that rules-based international order. All the theories are there in that order. One of them is that borders cannot be redrawn by force,” Price said in response to a question.
Read also: Putin hosts Brazilian leader for talks amid Ukraine crisis
“That, big countries cannot threaten small countries. That only the people of a particular country can be in a position to choose their foreign policy, their partnerships, their alliances, their associations. They are principles that apply equally in the Indo-Pacific as they do in Europe,” he said in an apparent reference to the aggressive behavior by China against its neighbours, including India.
India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific region in the backdrop of China’s increasing military moves in the region.
China claims almost all of the disputed South China Sea, although Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.
Price said Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of State S Jaishankar discussed defense issues, but refrained from commenting on any discussion on possible actions under the Anti-Sanitation Act (CAATSA) by the US’s opponents of sanctions. Enacted by the US Congress in 2017, CAATSA provides for punitive action against any country engaged in transactions with the Russian defense and intelligence sectors.
Read also: Ukraine asks UN Security Council to discuss Russian effort to recognize separatists
“Our broad defense relationship was discussed, but I don’t want to go further,” Price said.
In October 2018, despite warnings from the Trump administration that proceeding with the contract may invite US sanctions, India entered into an agreement with Russia for USD 5 billion to buy five units of the S-400 air defense missile systems. The deal was signed.
India made the first tranche of payment of around USD 800 million to Russia for missile systems in 2019. The S-400 is touted as Russia’s most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defense system.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Blinken said the US was doing everything it could to seek a peaceful solution to the Moscow crisis that was “unnecessarily precipitated” by Moscow.
“But those efforts, as we have said, will take effect only if the Russian Federation is ready to de-escalate,” Price told reporters.
According to a senior US administration official, the West found that Russia had increased its forces near Ukraine’s border to 7,000 troops, some of whom arrived as recently as Wednesday, contrary to Moscow’s claims of withdrawal.
Read also: Evacuation, refugee crisis scare and a warning: how the world is reacting to Russia-Ukraine tensions
“To be very, very clear, we haven’t seen that. In fact, we’ve seen the opposite in recent weeks and even in recent days. More Russian forces, not less, are on the border and they We are moving into a combat situation with regard to ,” Price said.
A State Department spokesman alleged that any of these could be elevated under the pretext of aggression.
“It could happen, we are concerned, at any time and the world should be prepared for it. This could include claims about Ukrainian military activity in the Donbass, false claims of US or NATO activities on land, at sea or in the air, even That Russian territory may also include claims of Ukrainian or NATO incursions,” he said.
“We are particularly concerned about President (Vladimir) Putin and other Russian officials, their ongoing mentions of ‘genocide’ in the Donbass. There is no basis for truth in any of these allegations.
“However, this has not deterred the Russians from pursuing these false claims, including reports of unmarked mass graves of civilians allegedly killed by the Ukrainian armed forces, and statements that the United States or Ukraine is developing biological or chemical weapons.” are, Russian-controlled areas for later use,” he said.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied that it has plans to attack Ukraine, but demanded that NATO never accept Ukraine and other ex-Soviet countries as members, and that the military alliance should not support the military in former Soviet bloc countries. rolls back the deployment.
Read also: Ukraine crisis: Indians asked to return home amid threat of invasion by Russia