U.S. remains deeply confident in India's diversification of defence equipment, says Pentagon’s Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh

The U.S. remains deeply confident in India’s diversification of military equipment and the U.S. encourages all its partners and allies to avoid transactions with Russia, Sabrina Singh said

The U.S. remains deeply confident in India's diversification of military equipment and believes that Washington's proposal for industrial cooperation will further integrate the defence industries of the two countries, the Pentagon has said.

Pentagon’s Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a news conference on June 20, that the U.S. encourages all its partners and allies to avoid transactions with Russia.

“We welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States this week. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin visited India just two weeks ago and was able to meet with his counterpart Rajnath Singh, there. What we always will continue to urge our allies and partners around the world is to avoid transactions with Russia,” she said, referring to the sanctions imposed on Moscow.

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Mr. Modi is visiting the U.S. from June 21-24 at the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

“We remain deeply confident in India's diversification of equipment, and over the past decade, our proposal for industrial cooperation will further integrate the U.S. and Indian defence industries. So, I think I'll just leave it at that,” Ms. Singh said.

“That's something that we've continued to reiterate with Turkey, with India, and with others. I think, there are very different and two different cases, and when it comes to India, we remain confident in their diversification of equipment and our ability to integrate with them as well,” she said.