As the war rages in Ukraine for the last one year, the US has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make efforts to end the conflict and said there is still time to stop violence.
These assertions were made by White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby late on Friday when asked if it is too late for Modi to stop the war between Ukraine and Russia or convince President Vladimir Putin.
Making his country’s position clear, Kirby said, “I think there’s still time for Putin to stop the war.
“I think there’s still time for it. I will let Mr Modi speak to whatever efforts he’s willing to undertake,” adding, “the US would welcome any effort that could lead to an end of hostilities in Ukraine.”
Ukraine on Friday said Russia had launched a major new wave of aerial attacks, as President Joe Biden announced he would mark one year since the invasion by visiting Kyiv’s neighbour Poland.
Incidentally, Kirby’s statement came a day after the National Security Adviser (NSA) held a meeting with Putin in Moscow.
Moreover, Doval earlier this month led a high-level delegation to Washington to discuss strategic issues and met his US counterpart Jake Sullivan. Doval held parleys with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
India has along favoured dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the Ukraine conflict and has refrained from voting against Russia on the issue in the United Nations.
Also, Modi in September last year told Putin that “today’s era is not of war and I have spoken to you about it on the call. Today we will get the opportunity to talk about how we can progress on the path of peace” on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit”.
Meanwhile, the US also said Putin was responsible for the destruction being caused across Ukraine.
“The person responsible for what the Ukrainian people are going through is Putin and he could stop it right now. Instead, he is firing cruise missiles into energy and power infrastructure and trying to knock out the lights and knock out the heat so the Ukrainian people suffer even more than they already have,” Kirby said during his daily Press briefing.
India had in December last year, called on Russia and Ukraine to return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue and end their ongoing conflict. In fact, Modi in telephonic talks with Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy some months ago also urged them to hold one on one parleys to resolve the issues.
A few days ago, Senior Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko urged the United States to impose secondary sanctions on China and India if they keep buying Russian energy. The official who heads the foreign affairs committee in Ukraine’s parliament, also called for greater ties with Taiwan.