Washington: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden, US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan on Saturday said that India should support the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, referring to the Russia-Ukraine war. Sullivan said that the war and Prime Minister Modi’s recent visit to Ukraine are expected to be discussed in the Modi-Biden bilateral meeting to be held at the US President’s residence in Wilmington, Delaware, during the Quad summit.
Responding to a question, the US National Security Advisor said, “I will not elaborate on the issues that Biden will talk about, which are obviously sensitive and will clearly be important priorities in the bilateral meeting.” Sullivan said, “It is America’s clear view that Russia’s brutal aggressive war against Ukraine has violated every norm and principle of international law, and countries like India should come forward and support the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He also said that every country should avoid giving war material to Russia. He said, “The President (Biden) would also like to know from Prime Minister Modi about his visit to Ukraine, which was an important and truly historic visit. Also, it will be an opportunity for both of them to discuss their respective views about the way forward.”
Modi visited Ukraine in August to hold a meeting with (Ukraine’s) President Volodymyr Zelensky. Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin named India among the three countries he is in constant touch with about the Ukraine conflict. Putin had said he was making sincere efforts to resolve the issue. Regarding China, Sullivan said the two leaders (Biden and Modi) will talk about how they view China’s actions in the region, the direction China is taking, not only in the security sector, but also in the economic and technology sectors.
