Mira Rapp-Hooper, director for the Indo-Pacific on the White House National Security Council, during a panel discussion, said India must be provided with alternatives

Amid India's continued neutral stance on the issue of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US has again reiterated its stand on India's position, saying it has been "unsatisfactory" but "unsurprising" due to its historical relationship with Russia.

Mira Rapp-Hooper, director for the Indo-Pacific on the White House National Security Council, during a panel discussion, said India must be provided with alternatives. "I think we would certainly all acknowledge and agree that when it comes to votes at the U.N., India's position on the current crisis has been unsatisfactory, to say the least. But it's also been totally unsurprising," she said, reported Reuters.

Rapp-Hooper said the reason that India has deepened its ties with Russia is that it's thinking "long and hard" about its dependency on Russia.

"I think our perspective would be that the way forward involves keeping India close, thinking hard about how to present it with options so that it can continue to provide for its strategic autonomy," she said.

Notably, apart from continuing its close ties with Russia, India has improved its relations with Washington in recent years. India's big dependence on the defence equipment of Russia is one of the factors that has forced it to maintain a close relationship with it. The big test of these ties was seen during India's defiance to suspend the S-400 air defence system deal with Russia despite strong protest and threat of sanctions by the US.

Joe Biden Calls India 'Shaky'

Three days back, US President Joe Biden said India was an exception among Washington's allies with its "shaky" response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to AFP.

Biden lauded the US-led alliance, including NATO, the European Union and key Asian partners, for its united front against President Vladimir Putin. Addressing a meeting of US business leaders in Washington, Biden said there had been "a united front throughout NATO and in the Pacific." "The Quad is, with the possible exception of India being somewhat shaky on some of this, but Japan has been extremely strong -- so has Australia -- in terms of dealing with Putin's aggression," he said.

What India Says On Russia-Ukraine Crisis

India has always maintained a "steadfast and consistent" position on the Russia-Ukraine war, as per which it has called for an immediate end to violence and to solve crisis via talks and diplomacy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday. He said India has always maintained that the global order is anchored on international law, UN charter and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.

Meanwhile, Quad members including Australia, Japan and the United States have stopped buying Russian oil, though India (the 4th Quad grouping member) continues to purchase Russian oil. India has also abstained from voting against Russia at United Nations, though it has consistently advocated ending the war and redressal of issues via talks.