Washington: A senior White House official said on Friday India`s positionat the United Nations over the crisis in Ukraine has been “unsatisfactory”but was also unsurprising given its historical relationship with Russia.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, director for the Indo-Pacific on the White House NationalSecurity Council, told a panel discussion it was necessary to provide Indiawith alternatives to continued close ties with Russia.
“I think we would certainly all acknowledge and agree that when it comes tovotes at the U.N., India`s position on the current crisis has beenunsatisfactory, to say the least. But it`s also been totally unsurprising,”she said.
India has developed close ties with Washington in recent years and is avital part of the Quad grouping aimed at pushing back against China. But ithas a long-standing relationship with Moscow, which remains a majorsupplier of its defense equipment. India has avoided condemning Russianactions in Ukraine and abstained in U.N. Security Council votes on theissue.
Rapp-Hooper said India had cleaved closer to Russia as a hedge as itsrelationship with China worsened, but it was thinking “long and hard” aboutits defense dependency on Russia.
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“I think our perspective would be that the way forward involves keepingIndia close, thinking hard about how to present it with options, so that itcan continue to provide for its strategic autonomy,” she said.
Even before the Ukraine crisis erupted, Delhi upset Washington with itspurchase of Russia`s S-400 air defense system, putting it at risk of U.S.sanctions under a 2017 U.S. law aimed at deterring countries from buyingRussian military hardware.
Analysts say sanctions against India could jeopardize U.S. cooperation withDelhi in the Quad forum with Japan and Australia aimed at counteringChina`s expanding influence.
