Biden says the US consulting India to resolve the Ukraine crisis

While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called EAM Dr S Jaishankar and discussed the ongoing developments in, PM Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and said the differences between NATO and Russia can be resolved through dialogue.

New Delhi: United States President Joe Biden said Washington was in "consultations" with India on the issue of Ukraine but indicated that the differences have not been fully resolved between the two countries.

Responding to a question on whether India, a major US defence partner, was in sync with the US position on the issue, Biden said in a press conference, "We are in consultations with India today. We have not resolved that completely."

Also, when asked if he was urging China to play a role in isolating Russia, Biden said he was not prepared to comment on that for the moment.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar received a call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday (February 24) evening. "Appreciate the call from @SecBlinken. Discussed the ongoing developments in Ukraine and its implications," Dr Jaishankar tweeted.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Mr Modi reiterated his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through "honest and sincere dialogue," a PMO statement said. The statement said, "President Putin briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the recent developments regarding Ukraine."

Russia has welcomed the "independent position" India has taken in the UN Security Council twice already on Ukraine, which was expressed openly by the Indian external affairs minister and other officials.

Earlier this week, Russian Deputy Chief of Mission, Roman Babushkin, said India has been playing a vital role as a responsible global power and is taking an "independent and balanced" approach to world affairs. He also said the crisis would not impact India-Russia ties, including in areas of defence, and there will be a "huge" Russian participation in the DefExpo in Gujarat next month.

Biden has, of course, tried to frame the conflict as a battle between autocracy and democracy. He slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine and announced "devastating" sanctions against Russia. Other major western countries also announced sanctions against Russia.