Jake Sullivan, the United States National Security Advisor (NSA) said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine war was very much welcomed by the US.
Addressing a press conference at the White House, Sullivan said what Modi said was "a statement of principle on behalf of what he believes is right and just (and) it was very much welcomed by the US," news agency PTI reported.
The remark of the Indian leadership, which has longstanding relationships with Moscow, telling Russia that now is the time for the war to end is commendable, Sullivan said.
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He added the way the war in Ukraine should end is for Russia to abide by the basic terms of the United Nations charter and to return territories that it seized by force.
"This is a message that every country -- in spite of how they feel about Russia, Ukraine and the US -- “should be able to centre around this basic proposition,” the US NSA further told reporters on Tuesday.
{{/usCountry}}"This is a message that every country -- in spite of how they feel about Russia, Ukraine and the US -- “should be able to centre around this basic proposition,” the US NSA further told reporters on Tuesday.
{{/usCountry}}Prime Minister Modi met Vladimir Putin on September 16 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Uzbekistan.
Modi nudged Putin to end the ongoing war in Ukraine and return to the path of dialogue.
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"Today's era is not of war and I have spoken to you about it on the call. Today we will get the opportunity to talk about how we can progress on the path of peace. India and Russia have stayed together with each other for several decades," Modi told Putin expressing his concerns about the impact of the war on food and energy security, ANI reported.
"We spoke several times on the phone about India-Russia bilateral relations and various issues. We should find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers. I want to thank Russia and Ukraine for helping us to evacuate our students from Ukraine," Modi added.
A day after Modi's message to Putin, the White House said that the Russian President was isolating himself from the international community.
"We don't believe that now's the time to be doing any business as usual with Russia with respect to what they're doing in Ukraine,” John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, told reporters.
(With agency inputs)