US raises Ukraine war in talks with India

The US official met with his Indian counterpart at a gathering of the so-called ‘Quad’ nations – Australia, India, Japan and the US – in Tokyo on Sunday. During the discussion, Blinken “underscored the importance of realizing a just and enduring peace for Ukraine consistent with the UN Charter”, the State Department announced.

The meeting came ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Ukraine later this month, the details of which are currently being finalized, according to an official cited by The Hindu daily newspaper.

The trip is seen as an attempt to balance New Delhi’s ties with the West, which was reportedly frustrated by Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this month. Russia was chosen as Modi’s first bilateral visit after he assumed office for a third term.

After the meeting with Blinken, Jaishankar noted on X (formerly Twitter) that bilateral ties are progressing “steadily”, but did not mention Ukraine.

The Ukraine conflict did feature in a joint statement released after the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in Tokyo, which expressed “deepest concern” over the hostilities and their “terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences”.

The ‘Quad’ is an informal grouping largely seen as a Washington-led initiative aimed at balancing China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.

India has so far refused to condemn Russia or downgrade ties over the Ukraine conflict, despite pressure from the West. Jaishankar has repeatedly stated that New Delhi aims to balance its ties with both the West and Moscow, also stressing that peace can be achieved through dialogue and diplomacy. Last month, New Delhi refused to sign the final document of a Swiss-hosted ‘peace summit’ on Ukraine, to which Russia was not invited.

During his visit to Moscow, Modi again stressed that there is no “peace on the battlefield” and that solutions “can only be found through dialogue”.

Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky reacted angrily to Modi’s meeting with Putin, which he described as a “devastating blow to peace efforts”. New Delhi reportedly summoned the Ukrainian ambassador over the remarks.

Modi’s visit to Russia came under similar scrutiny in Washington. US State Department official Donald Lu told a congressional hearing last week that the White House had been disappointed by the “symbolism” and “timing” of Modi’s visit. Senior officials in the administration of President Joe Biden were also “frustrated” that the visit coincided with a NATO 75th anniversary summit in the US capital, the Washington Post reported.

Responding to the criticism, New Delhi told the West to recognize the reality of multipolarity, and that countries have “freedom of choice” in terms of their engagements on the global stage.