Biden states India’s position in dealing with Putin’s aggression is “somewhat shaky”

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Speaking at a Quarterly Meeting of CEOs Business Roundtable on March 21, 2022, in Washington D.C., US President Joe Biden, while praising the global alliance for strengthening the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in fighting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, said India’s position is “somewhat shaky,” in its support.

At the meeting Biden praised American companies for stepping forward and proactively winding down their operations in Ukraine. He assured the CEOs that NATO has never been stronger or more united than it is today, but stressed that in response to Russian President, Vladimir Putin, NATO has put a united front in its territories and in the Pacific but with one exception.  “The Quad is — with the possible exception of India – being somewhat shaky on some of this.  But Japan has been extremely strong, so has Australia, in terms of dealing with Putin’s aggression.  We presented a united front throughout NATO and the Pacific.”

Soon after Biden’s remarks on India, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs of the US, Victoria Nuland, who’s traveling in India, said in a TV interview, “democracies need to stand together and evolve their position vis-a-vis Russia because of the choices Putin has made. Democracies must stand against autocracies like Russia and China,” adding “we know about the historic relationship and defense relationship between India and Russia at a time when the US was not prepared to have that kind of relationship. But times have changed now. They’ve changed in terms of the US and European willingness to be strong defense and security partners with India. We are doing more and more together in the Indo-Pacific. But times have also changed in terms of the level of brutality and violation of international humanitarian law that we are seeing.”

On March 21^st, Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla, and Nuland co-chaired India-US Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in New Delhi. After the meeting, reaffirming strong strategic partnership between the US and India, India’s foreign ministry in New Delhi said, “the FOC provided a valuable opportunity to discuss contemporary regional issues pertaining to South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, West Asia, and the situation in Ukraine, among others. Foreign Secretary Shringla and Under Secretary of State Nuland agreed to maintain regular dialogue and consultations on regional issues. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Following up on the Quad Leaders’ Meetings, they expressed a keen desire to implement quickly the Quad’s positive and constructive agenda to deliver for countries in the Indo-Pacific region.” Both Shringla and Nuland agreed to meet for the next FOC in Washington D.C.

A day later, Foreign Minister of India, S. Jaishankar, on March 22^nd, tweeted “pleased to meet Under Secretary of Political Affairs. Good discussion on expanding our bilateral cooperation, on South Asia, Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine situation.”

As the threat of Russia using chemical warfare in Ukraine is looming large, on March 23^rd, Biden traveled to attend an emergency NATO Summit at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. On March 24^th, he will meet with 29 leaders of NATO allies and will discuss the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine while reaffirming his commitment to the security of NATO partners. He will also address the G7 leaders, and deliver remarks to 27 leaders of the European Union at a session of the European Council, at the Europa building, where he’s expected to impose additional sanctions on Russia and discuss the next phase of defense assistance to Ukraine.

On March 26^th, in Poland, Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, meet with U.S. troops assisting in defending the NATO territory, and will meet with allies and experts involved in the humanitarian response.