WILMINGTON, DEL. – US President Joe Biden will speak with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday as he presses world leaders to take a hard line against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
India’s neutral stance in the war has raised concerns in Washington and earned praise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who praised India this month for assessing “the whole situation rather than the whole situation.” not just in a one-way way.”
Most recently, India abstained when the United Nations General Assembly voted on Thursday to suspend Russia from its seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council for accusing Russian troops in Ukraine of violating rights granted to the United States and the United States. Ukraine calls it a war crime.
The number of votes was 93-24 with 58 abstentions.
During the virtual meeting, Biden will talk about the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine “and minimize its destabilizing impact on global food supplies and commodity markets”, Press Secretary White House Jen Psaki said in a statement Sunday.
They will discuss “strengthening the global economy and upholding a free, open, rules-based international order to enhance security, democracy, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.” Duong,” she said.
India continues to buy Russian energy supplies, despite pressure from Western countries to avoid buying Russian oil and gas. The US has also considered sanctions against India for its recent purchase of advanced Russian air defense systems.
Last month, the state-run Oil Corporation of India bought 3 million barrels of crude oil from Russia to cover its needs, fending off demands from the West to avoid buying such products. However, India is not alone in purchasing Russian energy. Some European allies such as Germany have continued to do so, despite public pressure to terminate these contracts.
Indian media reports say Russia is cutting its oil purchase price by 20% below the global benchmark.
Iraq is India’s top supplier, with a 27% market share. Saudi Arabia is second with about 17%, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 13% and the US with 9%, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Biden and Modi last spoke in March.
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