US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that they did not decide on sanctions against India, which received the S-400 from Russia, and that they wanted to be a partner of India instead of Moscow.
Blinken said that they have not yet made the final decision on sanctions against India, which has received S-400 from Russia, but that they wish to be the main security partner of India instead of Russia and are making efforts for this.
US Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met in Washington as part of the "2+2 Ministerial Level Strategic Dialogue Meeting".
“WE WANT INDIA TO PREFER US”
While the ministers, who were in front of the cameras after the meetings, evaluated the bilateral and regional relations between the USA and India, Blinken answered the question whether sanctions would be applied to India, which received the S-400 air defense system from Russia.
Blinken, reiterating the calls of the USA that no ally (!) should buy comprehensive weapons from Russia, said the followings for India's purchase of the S-400 from Moscow:
"We have yet to decide on possible sanctions or possible exemptions under the CAATSA Act. But there is a long history and relationship between India and Russia, including military sales. This relationship was formed years ago when we could not be partners in India. Now we are in a position to be India's security partner of choice, and we want it."
Touching on the amount of energy India receives from Russia, Blinken said, "Of course, we strive to reduce dependency on Russia by increasing energy diversity and renewable energy fields."
The White House stated that India's import of oil from Russia is not a violation of the US sanctions against Russia due to the Ukraine war (!).
Pointing out that India imports more oil from the USA than from Russia, Psaki said, "He argued that India's oil purchase does not mean that the sanctions imposed on Russia will be breached."
MODI: “USA AND INDIA ARE NATURAL PARTNERS”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the US and India, as the largest and oldest democracies, are natural partners.
Modi had an online meeting with US President Joe Biden on bilateral relations, regional developments and the Russia-Ukraine war.
It was noteworthy that the Biden-Modi meeting took place at a time when the US called on India not to increase its energy purchases from Russia.