Biden to send aide to press India for help in implementing sanctions on Russia

Daleep Singh is overseeing the Biden Administration's move to step up economic pressure on Russia in response to its aggression against Ukraine

A senior official of President Joe Biden's administration is likely to visit New Delhi soon to seek India's support in implementing the sanctions the United States and other western nations imposed on Russia in the wake of its military operations in Ukraine.

Biden's Deputy National Security Advisor on International Economics, Daleep Singh, is set to visit New Delhi even as President Vladimir Putin is sending his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to add momentum to the ongoing talks between the two governments on the Ruble-rupee trade mechanism to continue bilateral commerce with India amid sanctions by the US and other western nations on India.

Singh, an Indian-American, is overseeing the Biden Administration's move to step up economic pressure on Russia in response to its aggression against Ukraine.

Also read: Russia-Ukraine conflict: EU leaders hope India can push for democratic values

The sanctions imposed by the US and other western nations on Russia has made it difficult for India to pay for its imports from the former Soviet Union nation.

India is now exploring options to continue its trade with Russia, bypassing restrictions on payment.

With Moscow offering crude oil to New Delhi at a discounted price, India has already planned to buy about 15 million barrels of crude oil from sanctions-hit Russia at a discounted price over the next few weeks, notwithstanding criticism in the US and the United Kingdom. The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) already made a move to buy as much as 3 million barrels of crude oil from Russia immediately. India also decided to double its import of coking coal – a key ingredient for making steel – from Russia.

Russia’s military operations in Ukraine brought to the public domain the differences between India and the US. India abstained from voting on the resolutions the US and other western nations sponsored or supported at the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly denouncing Russia for its aggression against the East European nation.

Though New Delhi called for a cessation of hostilities and a return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict, it refrained from directly condemning the Russian President for his February 24 order to launch military operations in Ukraine.

India still relies heavily on Russia for its military hardware, including ammunition, given the long-standing defence cooperation between the two nations.

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