India's relationship with Russia provides it with a unique position to urge President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre stated on Tuesday.
This remark followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expression of deep sorrow to Putin over the death of innocent children, after a lethal strike on a children's hospital in Kyiv. Notably, PM Modi was on a two day trip to Moscow to attend the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.
The remarks from the White House came as President Joe Biden is set to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday afternoon.
According to Jean-Pierre, this meeting will take place on the sidelines of the NATO summit, just before a session of the NATO-Ukraine Council. This will mark the third meeting between Biden and Zelenskyy in recent weeks.
When asked about the objectives for Biden at the NATO summit, which is being held in Washington DC, Pierre said, "The president wants to continue to strengthen that partnership and those alliances."
Earlier, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday in a press meet ahead of the 3-day NATO meet marking 75th anniversary of the military alliance, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot divide us, outlast us or weaken us."
He further said that NATO was committed to "standing with Ukraine in the long term".
Meanwhile, NATO plans to establish a new military command in Germany, headed by a three-star general, to oversee the training of Ukraine.
Additionally, a senior representative will be appointed in Kyiv to deepen Ukraine's relationship with the alliance, Sullivan told a conference on the defense industry sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce.
