India has been somewhat shaky in terms of dealing with Putin's aggression: Biden

Agencies | Washington   

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

India's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been "somewhat shaky", US president Joe Biden said on Monday as one of Europe's worst conflict since the World War 2 is set to complete a month with major cities in the country struggling for survival. "The Quad is, with the possible exception of India being somewhat shaky on some of this, but Japan has been extremely strong -- so has Australia -- in terms of dealing with Putin's aggression," the US president said while talking about global punitive measures against the Kremlin. Quad is a four-nation alliance of India, Japan, US and Australia.

India was urged by the US to consider the oil imports from Moscow after Washington announced the big move of banning imports of crude oil from Russia. Last week, when asked if Biden was going to speak to India on the matter, White House press secretary Jen Psaki had told a briefing: "We have been in touch, of course, with Indian leaders at a range of levels, not through the President (Joe Biden). If that happens, we will, of course, provide that information to all of you." Japan, US and Australia have announced a slew of sanctions against the Moscow amid the Ukraine war and New Delhi has been expected to take a similar route.

Last week, in a joint statement with Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for an "immediate cessation violence". Similar remarks have been presented at the United Nations. But New Delhi has been abstaining from voting against Moscow.

The central government has not yet responded to Biden's latest comments.

Biden's proactiveness amid the war has also been questioned with Ukraine repeatedly urging the NATO to "close the skies", accusing Russia of bombing the civilian areas. Earlier, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused an offer from the US to evacuate the war-hit nation. "I need ammunition, not a ride," he had underscored in comments that drew global praise.

A ‘no-fly’ zone in Ukraine is not an option, the US president has made it clear in the recent past.

On Monday, Biden dismissed the claims that Kyiv was not well-equipped to put up a strong fight. There has been "a united front throughout NATO and in the Pacific," he insisted while speaking at the Bussiness Roundtable's CEO Quarterly Meeting. “The idea that Ukraine doesn't have specific equipment is simply not accurate. Now, I don't have time to give you the details but they have every piece of euipment to be doing what they're doing.” NATO is united “like never before," he insisted.

Meanwhile, Zelensky yet again directed sharp questions at the NATO in the daily briefing, saying that it "was afraid of Russia".

In his address, Biden also said that Russian president Vladimir Putin may be considering using "biological and chemical weapons", citing the use of such weapons earlier. "He (Putin) said that we have biological and chemical weapons - this is simply not true. It has also been said that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons... and Ukraine has none of those. That's a clear sign. He is considering using both of those."

"And if you notice, they’ve (Moscow) just launched their hypersonic missile because it’s the only thing they can get through with absolute certainty.”

Urging "private sector partners to harden your cyber defenses immediately by implementing the best practices we have developed together over the last year", Biden said: "I have previously warned about the potential that Russia could conduct malicious cyber activity against the United States, including as a response to the unprecedented economic costs we’ve imposed on Russia alongside our allies and partners. It’s part of Russia’s playbook. Today, my Administration is reiterating those warnings based on evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks."

On a spate of global sanctions in the last few weeks to pressure the Kremlin to call back its troops, Putin has been defiant and has even slammed the West for the punitive measures, calling them "akin to war".