US Congress mulling ways to ‘encourage’ India to downscale ties with Russia: Report
India Today
US Congress could consider whether or not to employ means of “encouraging” India to scale back its links with Russia, according to a report.
The war in Ukraine has tested the India-US partnership, which has been among the more notable shifts in global power politics in the 21st century, according to a report which underlines that Congress could consider whether or not to employ means of "encouraging" New Delhi to scale back its links with Moscow.
For members of Congress and US policymakers seeking to encourage India to help isolate Russia diplomatically and economically, and to reduce Moscow’s ability to maintain active hostilities, efforts may need to focus on initiatives that allow India to rely less on Russia but avoid pushing Russia and China closer together, says the report by independent Congressional Research Service (CRS).
The CRS is a bipartisan and independent research wing of the US Congress that periodically prepares reports on issues of interest for lawmakers to take informed decisions.
“Congress may wish to consider whether or not to use its oversight function to ensure the State Department, Department of Defense, and others are pursuing bilateral and regional strategies that offer India a way to maintain its strategic autonomy while also encouraging distance from Russia,” CRS said in its report titled ‘India-Russia Relations and Implications for US Interests’.
To date, the Biden administration officials have acknowledged the motivations behind India’s neutrality on the Ukraine invasion and appear willing to abide ongoing India-Russia ties in the pursuit of what the administration deems to be broader US interests.
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, the Biden administration and Congress may consider whether or not to choose policy approaches meant to alter the present dynamic, it said.
Since 2017, US law (P.L. 115-44) requires the President to impose sanctions on any persons determined to have engaged in “significant transactions” with Russia’s defence or intelligence sectors.
