With its “shaky” response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said Monday that India was an outlier among Washington’s allies. Mr. Biden praised the US-led alliance’s united front against President Vladimir Putin, which includes NATO, the European Union, and key Asian partners.
This includes crippling Russia’s currency, international trade, and access to high-tech goods through unprecedented sanctions. Unlike the other members of the Quad group—Australia, Japan, and the United States—India, on the other hand, continues to buy Russian oil and has refused to vote in UN resolutions condemning Moscow.
Mr. Biden said there had been “a united front throughout NATO and in the Pacific” while speaking to a gathering of US business leaders in Washington.
India must take strong stand
“With the possible exception of India, which has been shaky on some of this, the Quad has been extremely strong in dealing with Putin’s aggression—as has Australia.” Mr. Biden stated that Mr. Putin “counted on being able to split NATO,” but that “NATO has never been stronger, more united in its entire history than it is today.” Even as the West seeks to isolate Moscow, Indian oil refiners are reportedly continuing to buy discounted Russian oil.
Last week, an Indian government official said that the world’s third-largest consumer of crude imports nearly 85 percent of its needs, with Russia providing only a “marginal” 1% of that. “However, the increase in oil prices as a result of the Ukraine conflict has added to our challenges… India must continue to focus on competitive energy sources,” the official added.
New Delhi, which has had close ties with Moscow in the past, has called for an end to the violence in Ukraine but has refrained from condemning Russia’s invasion, voting no in three UN votes.