President Biden held a “sincere exchange of views” with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an hour-long virtual call on Monday, according to a senior US official.
India has continued to buy Russian oil while the US and other nations have sanctioned Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
The official described the conversation during a National Security Council briefing after the meeting as “warm and productive” despite the differences.
The official suggested that India could easily cut off Russian oil if it wishes with little impact on its economy – in contrast to countries like Germany, which are much more dependent on Russian energy.
“We know that India is not a big consumer of Russian oil. Its current imports account for about one to two percent of its total energy imports,” the official said. “We made it very clear that we were able to ban oil and LNG and coal imports from Russia, but other countries have to make their own decisions.”
The official also said the government does not want India to “speed up or increase imports of Russian energy”.
The official said “India will make its own decisions” as he pressed whether Biden brought up India’s neutral stance on the Russian invasion.
The meeting between the two leaders comes amid pressure from the US and Western countries on India to take a tougher stance on Russia, a country with which it has long had close ties.
Pressure has increased amid growing reports of crimes against civilians committed by Russian forces, including in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
India has notably refrained from vocally condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and most recently abstained from voting on Russia’s suspension from the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Modi told reporters before the meeting that India was “very concerned” about the reports of atrocities in Bucha and condemned the killings while calling for an independent investigation.
“We also stressed the importance of the safety of the civilian population in Ukraine and the unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to them,” Modi said.
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The meeting came ahead of the US-India two-plus-two ministerial meeting that Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are holding with their Indian counterparts this week.
At Monday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the call was “constructive” and “direct” without being “hostile.”
“At the same time, on that call, consistent with what our Deputy National Security Advisor did during his visit a few weeks ago, the President made clear the impact of the course of our sanctions.” We expect everyone to comply and although India only imports about 1-2 percent of their energy from Russia, we have also made it clear and the President has made it clear that we would like to help them diversify that as well.” said Psaki.