US discourages India from ‘relying on Russia’ for defence needs

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby has said that the United States didn’t want India to “rely on Russia” for its defence needs, adding that “we have been nothing but honest about that and discouraging that”.

The senior official made the statement in response to a question from a journalist regarding India’s ties with Russia amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

In a press briefing on Friday, Kirby said that US had been “very clear with India and other countries that we don’t want to see them rely on Russia for defence needs”.

“At the same time, we also value the defence partnership that we have with India. And as was evidenced a week ago, we’re looking at ways to improve that going forward. That’s going to continue because it matters and it’s important,” he added.

Kirby also said that India was a provider of security in the region and “we value that”.

Earlier, US had warned India against warming up to Russia. Daleep Singh, Washington’s chief sanctions strategist, was quoted by local media in a visit to Delhi as saying that India could not rely on Russia if there was another clash.

US President Joe Biden, last month, had said that India was an exception among Washington’s allies with its “shaky” response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine after it abstained from a United Nations vote condemning the invasion .

India and Russia are working on a rupee-ruble mechanism to facilitate trade and get around Western sanctions on Russian banks, according to media reports.

Russia has written to India’s defence ministry requesting clearance of payments worth $1.3 billion that have been halted since last month, according to the local Economic Times newspaper.