We know India Committed To Rules-Based World Order: US On Ukraine issue
Washington/New Delhi, Feb 17: Even as India has kept its distance on the Ukraine issue, the US has said that during the Quad meeting in Melbourne there was strong consensus on a diplomatic resolution to Ukraine and to reinforce the rules-based international order- something that India is committed to.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price, answering a question Wednesday on the meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and whether the US felt that India is fully supporting it on the issue of Russia, said: “So, there was a discussion of Russia and Ukraine in the context of the Quad meeting that we had with our Indian counterparts, our Japanese and Australian allies. “There was a strong consensus in that meeting that there needs to be a diplomatic – a peaceful resolution to this. One of the core tenets of the Quad is to reinforce the rules-based international order, and that is a rules-based order that applies equally in the Indo-Pacific as it does in Europe, as it does anywhere else. We know that our Indian partners are committed to that rules-based international order”.
Elaborating on the rules-based international order, Price said: “There are any number of tenets to that order. One of them is that borders cannot be redrawn by force, that large countries cannot bully small countries; that only the people of a particular country can be in a position to choose their foreign policy, their partnerships, their alliances, their associations. Those are principles that apply equally in the Indo-Pacific as they do in Europe.”
Two days ago, on the subject of India’s support on the Ukraine issue, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had said the US is “working closely with allies and partners, including India”, on the issue of country-specific sanctions on Russia.
“So, you know, we’re not going to get into specifics. We’ve been really clear about our discussions, so I’m not going into details on that but — beyond what we’ve read out from the Secretary’s meeting in Melbourne last week. But we’re working closely with a range of allies and partners, including India.”
In Melbourne, Blinken had attacked Russia and said Moscow’s “dangerous actions” and the support it has drawn from “some countries” undermine the principles democracies adhere to.
EAM S Jaishankar, asked at a news conference in Melbourne whether the Quad partners are on the same page on Ukraine, said:
“Our position regarding the situation in Ukraine is, we actually laid out a fairly lengthy statement in the UN Security Council, and the short summary of that is — We really do think that the way out is through diplomacy.”
India has called for a peaceful resolution of the situation in Ukraine through sustained diplomatic dialogue. New Delhi had also abstained on a UNSC vote on the Ukraine issue on January 31.
