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US briefs India on Russia's military 'build-up' on Ukraine border

WION
New DelhiWritten By: Sidhant SibalUpdated: Jan 27, 2022, 06:46 PM IST
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This file photo shows Ukrainian forces on the Russian frontline near to Avdiivka, south-eastern Ukraine. Photograph:(AFP)

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Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov had a meeting with the Indian envoy to Russia Pavan Kapoor on Monday.

The United States has briefed India on Russian military "build-up" on Ukraine's border even as the situation in eastern Europe remains on the brink.

In a telephonic conversation with India's foreign secretary Harsh Shringla on Wednesday, US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman spoke on a number of issues "including Russia’s concerning military build-up on Ukraine’s borders and regional issues" said a state department readout.

During the talks, both sides discussed a wide range of issues such as the Indo-Pacific situation, UNSC cooperation and the Iran-P5+1 negotiations that have been going on.

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The focus was also on dealing with the ongoing pandemic as they agreed to remain closely coordinated on "shared goals and priorities and reiterated the importance of a strong US-India partnership to mitigate the COVID-19 Omicron variant’s rapid advance."

The call from Washington comes even as US secretary of State Blinken is in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv to reassure the country against any possible Russian action. Blinken is set to meet Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday as both Washington abd Moscow hope to find a "diplomatic off-ramp", state department officials have said.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov had a meeting with the Indian envoy to Russia Pavan Kapoor on Monday.

During the meeting they "exchanged views and assessments on the events in Geneva, Brussels and Vienna on security guarantees for Russia" according to a Russian readout.

Last week, Geneva saw eight-hour long US-Russia talks led by Ryabkov and Sherman to diffuse the crisis and understand each other's concerns. Moscow has been strongly opposing Ukraine's membership of NATO alliance which it sees as a threat to its security.

For India, both US and Russia are close partners. Russian President Putin was in Delhi last month for the annual summit while PM Modi was in Washington last year for a bilateral with US President Biden and participation at the Quad summit.