India-Russia ties grew out of necessity as US couldn’t do it earlier: Antony Blinken
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that India forged its relations with Russia out of necessity, which is not the case with the United States as there is a growing strategic convergence between the two democratic countries.
Speaking at a Congressional hearing by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, Blinken acknowledged that US could not build its ties with India like Russia did in the early stage, adding that the US is now taking efforts to rectify this.
"In the case of India, there is a relationship that goes back decades. And Russia, for India, was out of necessity a partner of choice when we were not in a position to be a partner,” he told lawmakers," Blinken said while responding to a question by Senator William Hagerty on the India-US relationship during the hearing.
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In the hearing, Hagerty said, “What I see before us is something I'm certain that is very frustrating in the short-term when we have our differences and you deal with that every day."
"But in the long-term, the strategic partnership that we have with India I think poses the opportunity to do more good in the 21st century," he said.
To which Blinken responded, “A number of countries are now relooking at some of their relationships and some of their interests particularly when it comes to their relationship with Russia. And of course, in the case of India, there's a relationship that goes back decades.”
The top American diplomat said that US President Joe Biden has spent "a lot of time directly engaging with Prime Minister Modi and India's leadership".
"We have energised the Quad that brings India together with Australia and Japan and us. This has been a very important vehicle for strengthening our collaboration across a whole variety of fronts with India," he said.
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