INDIA-State Dep't: FMs Discussed Global Implications Of Ukraine Invasion

State Dep't Spox Ned Price said the following after a bilateral meeting between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' summit in Indonesia:

• "They discussed collective efforts to mitigate the global implications of Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. The Secretary also welcomed India’s decision to join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, and noted that he looked forward to India’s leadership of the G20 next year."
• The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity is a new economic bloc being established in the Indo-Pacific, which some have viewed as an attempt to decouple various Asian nations from China's economic sphere of influence.
• US continues to try to coax India towards a more avowedly pro-western stance on security and economic issues. Despite Delhi's security concerns vis-a-vis China, the gov't of PM Narendra Modi continues to interact w/ gov'ts of both Russia and China on a close basis (see recent BRICS summit).