US is there for India: Biden administration

Washington: The US is there for India, the Biden administration has said, reiterating that New Delhi's relationship with Moscow developed over several decades when Washington was "not prepared or able to be a partner of choice" for the Indian government.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price's remarks came in response to a question about whether the US is talking with the Indian authorities as India and other Asian nations are becoming an increasingly vital source of oil revenues for sanctions-hit Russia, despite strong pressure from America.

"We have had a number of discussions with our Indian partners, and the point that we have made is that every country is going to have a different relationship with Moscow," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference on Thursday.

Russia has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become India's second-biggest supplier of oil behind Iraq as refiners snap up Russian crude available at a deep discount following the war in Ukraine, industry data showed recently.

India, the world's third-biggest oil-importing and consuming nation, has long defended purchases of crude oil from Russia following President Vladimir Putin ordering the invasion of Ukraine.