'Not looking to sanction India' US diplomat dubs Indo-US relations 'most consequential'

US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Karen Donfried has said that Washington is not going to sanction India and is comfortable with India’s approach in the Russia-Ukraine war. On Wednesday, the diplomat asserted that the US is not uncomfortable with India’s stance to buy oil from Russia and believes that the relations between the Washington and New Delhi are “most consequential,” ANI reported. Donfried made these claims in a telephone conference on Wednesday. 

“We are not looking to sanction India. Our relationship with India is the most consequential relationship,” the diplomat stated in the telephone conference. According to ANI, the proclamation from Donfried came after she was asked how the US perceives India’s decision of purchasing oil from Russia. “By end of the decade, Russia’s oil and gas will decline by 50 per cent. We do not believe that sanction policy to have universal hearings. We are comfortable with the approach India has taken. We are already seeing results in the budget deficit that Russia has reported,” Donfried exclaimed. However, the US diplomat made it clear that Washington is comfortable with India’s stance and also welcomed New Delhi’s support for the people of Ukraine. 

Donfried encouraged India to support Ukraine by providing Humanitarian assistance

In the conference, the US diplomat also urged India to support the war-stricken Ukraine and its people through humanitarian aid. “We welcome India’s support for the people of Ukraine by providing humanitarian assistance, and calls by India for an immediate end to Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine,” she said. According to ANI, the US diplomat also reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s November 2022 assertions on the Russia-Ukraine war. “We welcome PM Modi’s assertion that today’s era is not of war and his comments in the November 2022 G20 summit in Bali, calling for dialogue and diplomacy,” Donfried asserted. The US official also mentioned that India’s current leadership role in the G20 is “commendable”. The US diplomat then started hurling criticism against Russia and stated that Moscow can “end the war today”. “Russia alone can end this war today. My boss US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that if Russia stopped fighting, the war will end but if Ukraine stops fighting then Ukraine will end. If Putin wins it would mean defeat for Ukraine and for all of us. I continue to be inspired by the people of Ukraine," she concluded. The Wednesday telephonic press briefing was also attended by US Assistant Secretary Bureau of Energy Resources Geoffrey R. Pyatt.