In yet another attempt to influence India's independent foreign policy, the US State Department claimed that India should use its longstanding relationship with Russia to "put pressure" on Vladimir Putin over the conflict in Ukraine.
State Dept spokesman Mathew Milely stated that the “US will continue to impress upon the Indian government, who is an important partner of ours when it comes to their relationship with Russia”.
"So India has a longstanding relationship with Russia. I think that's well-known. And we have - speaking for the United States - encouraged India to utilize that relationship with Russia, that longstanding relationship and the unique position that they have, to urge President Putin to end his illegal war and to find a just peace, a lasting peace to this conflict; to tell Vladimir Putin to respect the UN Charter, to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," Miller said at the press briefing on Jul 15.
Notably, Modi during the bilateral meeting with Putin told him that peace is most important for the bright future of coming generations and solutions are not possible on battlefields.
It is not the first time that US is trying to pressurise India regarding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Last week, hours before Modi’s visit to Russia, Matthew Miller said “we would urge India to make clear that any resolution to Ukraine conflict needs to be one that respects the UN Charter”.