Following in the footsteps of Boris Johnson, Ursula von der Leyen arrived in India, and Biden intended to hold talks with the Indian Prime Minister at a summit in Japan.
Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen As part of the visit, he is holding talks with Indian leaders on energy issues on April 24, DW reports citing Bloomberg.
near New Delhi, the headquarters of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
On Monday, the head of the European Commission will meet with the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi .
A few days earlier, last Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also met with the Indian Prime Minister. The talks focused on the transfer of defense technology to the Indian side.
The EU and the US are trying to establish closer ties with India, the world's largest buyer of Russian weapons. The European Union plans to give India the opportunity to reduce its dependence on Russia.
Read also: India stabilizes economic ties with Russia amid sanctions
It will be recalled that India has not officially condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Asian countries continue to buy large volumes of oil from Russia. Oil supplies to India have increased eightfold compared to the same period last year.
Interestingly, India's close ties with Russia in the energy and defense spheres, as well as its refusal to join Western sanctions against Russia for the full-scale war against Ukraine associated with it does not provoke a sharp negative reaction from the West.
As previously reported, according to CNN analysts, India is vital to the United States as a counterweight to the rise of China, which Washington sees as a potentially more serious threat to world peace than Russia. That's what the West had to bite.
In the words of Harsh W. Pant, a professor of international relations at King's College London, the United States has realized that it needs to see India as a “new partner to care for.” Both New Delhi and Washington are increasingly concerned about China's growing military prowess, its aggressive territorial claims to land and sea, and its growing economic influence on its smaller neighbors. This brings India and the United States closer together. Visits to New Delhi by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson show the West's serious intentions to untie India economically and politically from Russia. In an online conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for example, US President Joe Biden said he was looking forward to meeting with him at the Quadruple Security Dialogue (QUAD) summit, which also includes India and is currently being held in Japan.
