PM Modi Russia visit: Amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia to attend the bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US has raised its concerns about the ties between the two nations. The US said on Monday that India is a strategic partner and urged India to ensure that when it engages with Russia, it needs to make sure that any resolution to the conflict needs to respect the UN charter.
Responding to questions about the bilateral talks at the daily briefing, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in a full and frank dialogue. And that includes our concerns about their relationship with Russia.”
"We did just see Modi, like (Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor) Orban, meet with (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy. We thought that was an important step to take. And we would urge India, as we do any country when it engages with Russia, to make clear that any resolution to the conflict in Ukraine needs to be one that respects the UN charter, that respects Ukraine's territorial integrity, Ukraine's sovereignty," Miller said.
Miller said that they would follow PM Modi’s public remarks to see what the two leaders talked about. “But as I said, we made quite clear directly with India our concerns about their relationship with Russia. So we would hope India and any other country, when they engage with Russia, would make clear that Russia should respect the UN charter, should respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.
PM Modi was welcomed by President Putin at his official residence at Novo-Ogaryovo for a “private engagement” on Monday. Putin showered praises on Modi and said that his re-election for the third time is not an “accident” and is the result of years of work. He also lauded Modi for working for the welfare of the Indian citizens.
This is PM Modi’s first trip to Russia after the country invaded Ukraine. After the two-day official visit on July 8-9, PM Modi will embark for Austria, becoming the first Indian prime minister in 41 years to visit Vienna, after former prime minister Indira Gandhi.