New Delhi: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Moscow and met Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Indian and US national security advisors spoke on Friday (July 12), affirming the need to advance bilateral relations based on “shared values” and “common strategic and security interests”.
Earlier this week, Modi hugged Putin and discussed with him the strengthening bilateral relations in what was the Indian PM’s first visit to Moscow since 2019.
It was further significant as Modi had chosen Moscow for his first bilateral trip in his third term.
The US state department had also on two consecutive days expressed concern about Modi’s relations with Russia.
The phone conversation between the national security advisors was announced by the Ministry of External Affairs. There has been no comment from the US side yet.
As per the communique, India’s Ajit Doval and the White House’s Jake Sullivan “discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral, regional and international concern and forthcoming high-level engagements under the Quad framework to be held in July 2024 and later in the year.”
Later this month, the Quad’s foreign ministers are slated to meet in Tokyo.
The Indian readout further stated that the two officials “agreed to work closely to further advance India-US relations, which are built on shared values and common strategic and security interests”.
“They reiterated the need to work collectively to address global challenges to peace and security and further expand the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership,” it added.
There was no mention of whether the Indian PM’s Russia visit was discussed during the phone call.
A day earlier, US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti cautioned at a conclave on India-US defence ties that while bilateral relations were strong and wide-ranging, they were “still not yet deep enough”. He also asserted that strategic autonomy, which is a cornerstone of India’s foreign policy, cannot be applied in conflict situations.
While Russia has been one of India’s closest strategic allies, the US has been attempting to build stronger ties with New Delhi to counterbalance China’s rising influence in the region.
India has never condemned Russia for the Ukraine war but has reiterated that conflicts can only be resolved diplomatically.
Modi’s visit coincided with a major missile attack by Russia on Ukraine, which included a strike on a children’s hospital in Kiev.
Meanwhile, NATO leaders met in Washington for their annual summit, which was dominated by their public pronouncements of support for Ukraine.
Incidentally, another notable phone call between India and the US was reported on Friday. PTI reported citing sources that US Vice President Kamala Harris had a conversation with Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday evening.
