India, US tighten embrace despite differences on Russia

Washington : American disquiet over New Delhi’s continued arms and energy ties with Russia and India’s concerns over Washington’s F-16 sustainment program with Pakistan will not hold back the two countries from further elevating their bilateral ties and bringing “close ties even closer,” top officials from the two sides said at the conclusion of bilateral talks on Tuesday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar chose to embrace the larger picture and struck an upbeat note on bilateral ties despite the airing of differences, some of which, notably on Ukraine, appeared to have narrowed.
Blinken repeatedly praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s counsel to President Putin that “now is not the era of war” while welcoming India’s commitment to the UN charter, an implicit condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Jaishankar on his part indicated that India is playing a quiet, behind the scenes role in helping defuse the crisis, particularlywith regards to disruption in supply of food, fuel, and fertilizer -partly at the request of Ukraine and the UN Secretary General -which was majorly impacting the global south.
Jaishankar however pushed back sharply at questions about New Delhi’s continued defense and energy purchases from Russia, saying “we exercise a choice we believe is in our national interest. ” Rejecting the largely western projection that India is facing problems with Russian equipment, he said New Delhi now has a tradition of multi-sourcing. ”In the last 15 years, we have procured a lot from US -C-19s, P8s, Apaches, Chinooks, Howitzers etc. . . for us it is a question of how to get an optimum deal from competitors,” he said. Blinken on his part rejected criticism from Indian quarters, including gibes from Jaishankar from other platforms, over the latest F-16 transaction with Pakistan, explaining that it was a sustainment program for jets Washington had already supplied to Pakistan and was meant for counterterrorism operations.
“These are not new planes. . . . we have a responsibility and obligations to maintain and sustain planes already supplied. It will bolster Pakistan’s counterterrorism capability which can benefit all of us. ” he maintained, while not responding to the specific Indian criticism that the f-16s had no role in counterterrorism and were meant for use against India.
In fact, in remarks at a separate forum on Monday, Jaishankar had virtually chided Washington for its arms supply to Pakistan, saying it neither helped Pakistan nor the US. Incidentally, Pakistan’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is also in Washington DC and held talks with Blinken on Monday where Pakistan was reportedly advised by the US delegation to stabilize ties with India.