‘Failed India in need’: US make big admission after Jaishankar declares to continue ‘advantageous ties with Russia’
After India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar hailed Russia for being India’s ‘exceptionally steady and time-tested partner’, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price admitted that the United States failed to be India’s partner when it needed.
When it comes to India’s relationship with Russia, we consistently made the point that it’s a relationship that developed and was cemented over the course of decades. It really came to be during the cold war at a time when the United States was not in a position to be an economic partner, a security partner, a military partner to India,” Ned Price said.
After meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, the Externals Affairs Minister said that India will continue to purchase Russian crude, as it has worked to India’s gain to find access “on the most advantageous terms” when energy markets are stressed worldwide.
“Russia has been a steady and time-tested partner. Any objective evaluation of our relationship over many decades would confirm that it has served both our countries very well. It has served my country very well for many decades. I think you can see the obvious interest and commitment, I would have in keeping that relationship strong and steady,” Jaishankar said during his two-day visit to Moscow.
However, the United States said that India should decrease its dependence on Russia in the collective interest.
US spokesperson said that countries have learned the hard way that Russia is not a reliable source of energy. “Russia is not a reliable supplier of security assistance. Russia is far from reliable in any realm,” Ned Price added.
“It’s in the collection Interest that India decreases its dependence on Russia over time but it’s also India’s own bilateral interest given what we have seen from Russia,” Ned said.
