According to US President Biden, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is not just a European problem. However, he does not mention India’s good contacts with Russia at the summit.
At a summit meeting of four leading democracies in the Indo-Pacific region, US President Joe Biden described Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine as a global challenge.
“This is more than just a European issue, it’s a global problem,” Biden said in Tokyo on Tuesday. “We are moving through a dark hour in our common history,” he said. In addition to Japan, Australia and the USA, India also took part in the deliberations, which takes a neutral stance on the Ukraine war and does not support Western sanctions.
Biden did not explicitly address India’s stance on Russia in the public portion of the summit. However, the US and other western states are trying to persuade India to move away from Russia. India traditionally has good relations with Moscow and buys a lot of Russian armaments.
Biden also met separately with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the summit. After the meeting, the White House said Biden had “condemned Russia’s unjustifiable war on Ukraine.” However, the US release did not provide any information on Modi’s position. The joint declaration at the end of the summit only said that the states had discussed their “respective answers” to the “conflict in Ukraine” and its consequences.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted the summit. In addition to Modi and Biden, the newly elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also attended. The group of four under the name “Quad” is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
