Washington, Oct 2
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar has said that he and his US counterpart Antony Blinken discussed West Asia and Ukraine and a whole range of issues including the Delaware bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden and the Quad summit.
Before the start of their meeting, Blinken spoke glowingly of the "incredible vibrancy, strength" in the relationship between the two sides on display in recent weeks.
"We followed up on the Delaware bilateral and Quad meetings," Jaishankar wrote of the meeting on X. "Our discussions also covered deepening bilateral cooperation, situation in West Asia, recent developments in the Indian subcontinent, the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine," he added.
"We've seen, just in recent weeks once again, the incredible vibrancy, strength behind the partnership that joins the United States and India," Blinken said referring to the recent bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Biden. "We had Prime Minister Modi here and actually in Wilmington, Delaware for the Quad meeting as well as a bilateral meeting with President Biden."
Biden had hosted Quad leaders for the first time in his hometown and also held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi at his home in Greenville, Delaware.
Blinken said: "The warmth of that meeting, the ambition in the relationship, is at a level we've never seen before. And I think it's a reflection of the value that both countries attach to this partnership – a partnership in so many different areas, including strategic technology sectors, including space, including semiconductors, including clean energy, where our countries increasingly are working together and creating new opportunities for people in both India and the United States but also more broadly than that around the world. And of course, the critical role that India plays on the global stage, working for peace, working for stability, working for security – here as well we're doing more and more together."
EAM Jaishankar thanked Blinken for the "great meeting between the Prime Minister and the President in Delaware, for a very, very good Quad meeting". He said: "I think it gave us an opportunity to take stock of the many areas where that mechanism has progressed."
Earlier, the EAM spoke about India's role in keeping the communication line open between Russia and Ukraine. "I'm glad you used the word communication because I think at the moment perhaps (it) is the best description for what we are currently in terms of," he said at an event by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading US think tank.
EAM Jaishankar detailed the meetings that have taken place between leaders of India, Russia and Ukraine, including Prime Minister Modi's meeting with President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The EAM also expressed his concern about a broader war in West Asia. The event took place before Iran's attack on Israel, which, Blinken said before his meeting with the EAM, "effectively defeated" by Israel "with active support" from the US and allies.
