US officials ‘frustrated’ by ‘terrible’ optics of Putin-Modi bear hug – WaPo

Washington reportedly pushed India to reschedule its leader’s visit to Moscow, which coincided with a NATO summit

Washington tried to persuade India to reschedule a visit to Moscow by Prime Minister Narendra Modi so that it would not coincide with a summit of NATO leaders in the US this week, the Washington Post has claimed.

US officials were concerned to see a major Asian power engaging Russia at the same time that Western nations were insisting that Russia is isolated on the world stage over the Ukraine conflict, sources familiar with the matter told the newspaper.

Senior cabinet members are now “frustrated,” the report said. The optics were “terrible,” one of the sources stated, while another one called the situation “deeply inappropriate.”

Modi called Russian President Vladimir Putin a friend and gave him what Western media described as a “bear hug” during his trip to Moscow. Both sides described the visit as highly successful.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky rebuked the Indian leader for his cordial relations with Putin, branding the visit a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts.” He also said that Modi had given a hug to “the world’s most bloody criminal.”

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Zelensky blasts Modi’s Moscow visit

Ukraine accused Russia of hitting civilian targets, including a children’s hospital in Kiev, on the same day when Putin and Modi met. Moscow denied Kiev’s claims and blamed a Ukrainian interceptor missile for the hospital damage.

According to the Post, Washington had conveyed to India its desire that Modi’s visit not occur at the same time as the NATO summit. For example, during a conversation between US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra in early July, Campbell said he hoped that the trip would be rescheduled.

American frustration was apparently expressed by US Ambassador Eric Garcetti, the newspaper added. During a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, he said India should not take US friendship “for granted.”

“I respect that India likes its strategic autonomy. But in times of conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy,” he stated.

READ MORE: Oil, nuclear power, and sustainable trade: Putin-Modi summit’s key outcomes

India and Russia have a decades-old relationship, with deals on future cooperation in various areas signed during Modi’s Moscow visit. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has suggested that the West is “jealous” of the partnership.