Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will actually meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, the White House said as the United States made clear it did not want to see a rise in Russian energy imports. India. “President Biden will continue our close consultation on the consequences of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and the mitigation of its destabilizing effects on world food and commodity markets,” Jen Psaki said in a statement. Daleep Singh, the US Deputy National Security Adviser for International Finance, who recently visited India, said the United States would not set a “red line” for India in energy imports from Russia, but did not want to see ” rapid acceleration “in the markets. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Driven by sharp rebates following Western sanctions on Russian entities, India has bought at least 13 million barrels of Russian crude oil since the country invaded Ukraine in late February. That compares with about 16 million barrels for the whole of last year, according to data collected by Reuters. The meeting will be preceded by a US-India 2 + 2 ministerial meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. said the White House. Biden, who last spoke to Monty in March, recently said that only India among the Quad countries was “somewhat unstable” when acting against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The nation of South Asia has tried to balance its ties with Russia and the West, but unlike other members of the Quad – the United States, Japan and Australia – has not imposed sanctions on Russia. Russia has long been India’s largest supplier of defense equipment despite growing purchases from the United States over the past decade. Defense analysts say Russian supplies are more cost-effective and vital to India as it faces a senior Chinese military. Daleep Singh said during his visit that the United States was ready to help India diversify its energy and defense supplies. India is the third largest importer and consumer of oil in the world. He also warned that the United States did not want its allies to help resurrect the ruble, which fell shortly after the start of the war but has recovered in recent days. Ukraine said Sunday it was seeking a new round of European Union sanctions against Moscow and more military aid from its allies as it prepares for a major Russian offensive in the east of the country. read more Russia has failed to occupy any major cities since launching its invasion on February 24, but Ukraine says it is concentrating its forces east for a major offensive and urging people to leave. Moscow has denied allegations of war crimes by Ukraine and Western countries. It has denied that it has targeted civilians in what it calls a “special operation” to demilitarize and “denationalize” its southern neighbor. Ukraine and Western nations have dismissed it as an unfounded pretext for war. Biden and Monty will also discuss co-operation on a range of issues, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling the climate crisis, strengthening the global economy and supporting a free, open, rule-based international order. enhance security, democracy and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, Psaki said. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Nandita Bose in Washington. Edited by Mark Porter Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
