India, US start preparations for 2+2 dialogue amid differences over Russia-Ukraine conflict

India and the United States on Monday sought to add momentum to preparations for the 2+2 ministerial dialogue, amid differences between the two nations over Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla and American Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, co-chaired India-US Foreign Office Consultations in New Delhi. They exchanged views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and touched upon contemporary regional issues, pertaining to South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region and West Asia, according to a press-release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). “Both sides looked forward to the India-US 2+2 ministerial meeting in Washington DC,” it added.

The senior diplomats of the two sides met amid growing differences between New Delhi and President Joe Biden’s administration over India’s persistent refusal to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching military operations in Ukraine. Biden, himself, stated that the US was not on the same page with India on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. India also decided to go ahead and buy crude oil offered at a cheaper rate by Russia, which came under sanctions from the US and other western nations in the wake of its aggression against Ukraine.

Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, recently said that while India would not be violating sanctions by buying oil from Russia, history would remember where the nations stood on the issue of the aggression against the East European nation.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are likely to visit Washington DC for the 2+2 ministerial meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.

Though the two sides were expected to hold the 2+2 ministerial dialogue weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with the United States President Joe Biden in Washington DC in September 2021, it could not be scheduled.

The two sides are now exploring possibilities of holding the meeting next month. They, however, have not yet officially announced the date yet.

India’s traditional defence ties with Russia has been an irritant in its ties with the US. The spectre of the US CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) sanctions looms large over India for its October 2018 deal to procure five S-400 air defence systems from Russia at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 39000 crore. Modi-Putin summit in New Delhi on December 6 saw India overlooking US frowns and inking an agreement with Russia to extend bilateral military technical cooperation and moving to expand defence cooperation between the two nations, citing challenges posed to its security by “unprovoked aggression” by China.

New Delhi’s refusal to toe the Biden Administration’s line on Russia-Ukraine conflict added to the strains in India-US relations. India abstained from voting on several US-backed resolutions at the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Modi also resisted Biden’s bid to get the Quad to criticize Russia, stressing that the coalition comprising India, Japan, Australian and the US should remain focussed on dealing with the belligerence of China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Shringla and Nuland, however, on Monday discussed the shared democratic values of India and the US and convergences of strategic interests. They agreed to work together to strengthen the India-US global partnership regarding supply chains, critical technologies, health security, climate actions and clean energy as well as combatting terrorism.

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