New Delhi, June 17 (Representative) Acknowledging India’s long-standing ties with Russia, the US has said that it has sought to be a partner of choice for New Delhi, including in the security realm, and has voiced latent hope that India too would “reorient” its ties with Moscow, as other countries have done.US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, in his media briefing, also said that the US during its conversations with India, over the issue of purchase of Russian oil, has made clear that “we are there for them, we are ready and able and willing to partner with them”. He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be interacting with US President Joe Biden next month during the inaugural I2U2 summit – of meeting of the leaders of India, Israel, the US and UAE, the new quartet. Asked about the purchase of Russian oil by India, Price said: ”We have had a number of discussions with our Indian partners, and the point that we have made is that every country is going to have a different relationship with Moscow. India’s relationship with Russia is one that developed over the course of decades, and it developed over the course of decades at a time when the United States wasn’t prepared or able to be a partner of choice for the Indian Government. “That has changed.
This is a legacy of a bipartisan tradition now that has been the case for more than two decades. It goes back really to the Clinton administration, certainly to the George W. Bush administration, where the United States has sought a partnership with India, has sought to be a partner of choice for India, including when it comes to the security realm. “Now, this is not a partnership that we were able to build in the course of days, weeks, or months. I mentioned before that India’s relationship with Russia was built up over the course of many decades. “As countries reorient their relationship with Moscow, as we have seen many of them do, this will be a gradual process. “But throughout it all, we have made clear to our Indian partners that we are there for them, we are ready and able and willing to partner with them, and we’ve done just that. Of course, we had a 2+2 dialogue with our Indian partners not too long ago. We will see Prime Minister Modi once again in the context of the I2-U2, the arrangement we have with the UAE and Israel along with India, incorporating India into many of the partnerships we have, including, of course, the Quad.
And that is a group that this administration has sought to revitalize and has done so at very high levels, including at the leader level on – four times.” To a question from a Pakistani correspondent on “rise in Islamophobia in India” in the context of the remarks about Prophet Mohammad by now-suspended and expelled BJP functionaries, Price said the US “regularly engages with the Indian government at senior levels on human rights concerns, including freedom of religion or belief, and we encourage India to promote respect for human rights.” “Well, this is something that we’ve condemned. We condemn the offensive comments made by two BJP officials, and we were glad to see that the party publicly condemned those comments. We regularly engage with the Indian Government at senior levels on human rights concerns, including freedom of religion or belief, and we encourage India to promote respect for human rights.“The Secretary (Antony Blinken) said when he was last in New Delhi, last year, that the Indian people and the American people, we believe in the same values: human dignity, human respect, equality of opportunity, and the freedom of religion or belief. These are fundamental tenets, these are fundamental values within any democracy, and we speak up for them around the world.”