Why it matters: The Biden government has made strengthening the US-India relationship a cornerstone of its strategy to deal with China in the Indo-Pacific, but has been at odds with the nationalist Monti government on a number of key issues. Leading the news: In his opening remarks before a closed-door meeting, Biden welcomed India ‘s commitment to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine and said the two sides would “continue our close consultation on how to deal with this destabilizing situation.” of the Russian war “.
Monti said he had spoken several times with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and suggested direct talks between the two leaders. Monti condemned the killing of civilians in the Kiev suburb of Bukha and called for an “independent investigation”, without explicitly naming Russian forces as perpetrators.
Backstage: Asked repeatedly if Biden urged Monti behind closed doors to take a tougher line against Russia, a senior government official told reporters that the discussions focused mainly on what India could do to alleviate food shortages and other destabilizing effects of war.
“There was no specific question or specific answer, but the leaders were able to back off and have a fairly detailed and honest exchange of views,” the official said. “I think India will make its own decisions, but we will continue the discussions,” they added. Between the lines: The official also suggested that Monti has “concerns” about China’s support for Russia, as India and China are currently embroiled in a tense border dispute along the mountainous Real Control Line.
The big picture: Monty and Biden’s relatively brief meeting began a day of talks between Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and their Indian counterparts, marking the first time the United States and India have met in this form. since the beginning of Biden’s presidency. What they say: “At the beginning of your term, you used a very important slogan – ‘democracies can pay off,’” Monti said, addressing Biden directly. “The India-US partnership and the success of the India-US partnership is the best way to make this slogan a reality.” What to watch: Biden said he was looking forward to seeing Monti in person in Japan “around May 24”, in a possible reference to the upcoming Quad leaders’ summit scheduled for spring. Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details about the meeting between Biden and Monty.
