US warns India against aligning with Russia

Washington: US President Joe Biden's top economic adviser has said that the US warned India against partnering too closely with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

"Our message to the Indian government is that the costs and consequences for them of moving into a more explicit strategic alignment with Russia will be significant and long-term," White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese told reporters.

"There are certainly areas where we have been disappointed by both China and India's decisions, in the context of the invasion," he added.

India has declined to level sanctions against Russia, as other countries have done.

The country, which the US sees as a counter to China's power in Asia, is the largest importer of Russian weapons, according to Bloomberg.

It comes after the US Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh made an official visit to India last week. "What Daleep did make clear to his counterparts during this visit was that we don't believe it's in India's interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy and other commodities," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said after Singh returned this week.