US Deputy Secretary of State Richard R. Verma
New Delhi: The US has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ukraine on August 23 as “important”. This visit is taking place about six weeks after Modi’s visit to Russia. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard R. Verma said that the US understands India’s “long-standing relationship” with Russia. Modi arrived in Poland’s capital Warsaw on Wednesday as part of his two-nation visit to Poland and Ukraine. The Prime Minister will be in Kiev for about seven hours on Friday. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to hold one-on-one and delegation-level talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The talks will focus on finding a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict.
‘India has to decide’
“I am very happy about this visit. I think it is an important visit – to Poland and Ukraine,” Verma said at a dialogue session at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress in Delhi. The senior Biden administration official said he appreciated Prime Minister Modi’s earlier remarks in which he said “this is not an era of war and it is a time for peace.” “We understand that India has a long-term relationship with Russia and India has to decide for itself where it wants to stand on this scale,” Verma said.
‘This is a crucial time’
Verma, a former US ambassador to India, said, “This is a very important time to defend freedom, liberty and the rule of law.” The US and many of its allies were upset over the timing of Modi’s July 8-9 Moscow visit as it coincided with the NATO summit in Washington.
What is America’s thinking about Bangladesh
On the political developments in Bangladesh, Verma said that the US has been supporting the democratic process in that country. He said, “The situation has been difficult for the people there for the last few months. I do not want to get into the wrong and misleading information spread on social media.” Verma was answering a question related to allegations that the US had a hand in destabilizing the previous government of Sheikh Hasina. He said, “We will support this change.” (Language)
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