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U.S. hopes India will support America if Russia attacks Ukraine
The Hindu
In October 2018, India had signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems despite U.S. warning of sanctions
The U.S. has hoped that India, which is committed to a rules-based international order, will stand by its side in case of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, which as per the Biden administration seems imminent with Moscow adding 7,000 troops to Ukraine's border in recent days.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday that there was a discussion on Russia and Ukraine during the recently concluded Quad ministerial in Melbourne that included foreign ministers from Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
He said there was a “strong consensus” in that meeting that there needs to be a diplomatic and peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis.
“One of the core tenants of the Quad is to reinforce the rules-based international order. And that is a rules-based order that applies equally in the Indo-Pacific as it does in Europe, as it does anywhere else. We know that our Indian partners are committed to that rules-based international order. There are any number of tenets in that order. One of them is that borders cannot be redrawn by force," Price said in response to a question.
"That, large countries cannot bully small countries. That only the people of a particular country can be in a position to choose their foreign policy, their partnerships, their alliances, their associations. Those are principles that apply equally in the Indo-Pacific as they do in Europe," he said in an apparent reference to the aggressive behaviour by China against its neighbours, including India.
India, the U.S. and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the region.