Reiterating the importance of US-India ties, the White House on Monday said the video call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden was an opportunity to discuss the Russian aggression in Ukraine and it builds on discussions happened at the lower level.
PM Narendra Modi on Monday held a virtual meeting with US President Biden wherein both the leaders exchanged views on several regional and global issues.
Answering a question on why the call between PM Modi-Biden was organised, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, India's an incredibly important partner and the US consult very closely with it on a range of issues.
"And this (video call between Modi and Biden) was an opportunity to discuss work very closely discuss the consequences of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine," she said.
Psaki said PM Modi-Biden's call builds on discussions that have happened at a lower level. "...But certainly is a reflection of the value the President sees in leader to leader diplomacy and having conversations that are candid, that is direct, but also provide hopefully a pathway to continuing to build on the steps we've seen India take in recent weeks."
During Monday's press conference, the White House Press Secretary said that energy imports are not banned from Russia and that New Delhi is not violating US sanctions.
Psaki said the call between the two leaders was "constructive and direct".
"This was a constructive call, it was a productive call. It's a relationship that is vitally important to the United States and to the president. I would not see it as an adversarial call," the White House spokesperson added.
Answering a question on whether Biden pushed India to limit Russian energy, Psaki said, "Energy imports are not banned and they don't violate our sanctions. We certainly recognise that every country is going to take a step in their interest."
However, Psaki during a press briefing, said Biden told PM Modi that it's not in India's interest to increase every import from Russia. "Beyond that, I'd let Indian leaders speak for themselves," said the White House Press Secretary on if US President was seeking a promise from PM Modi that he wouldn't look to increase oil purchases from Russia.
On the question, if Biden was seeking a promise from PM Modi that he wouldn't look to increase oil purchases from Russia, Psaki reiterated, "I will let Prime Minister Modi and Indians speak on that. It's only 1-2 per cent at this point in time, they export 10 per cent from the United States. It is no violation of any sanctions or anything along those lines."
( With inputs from ANI )
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