WASHINGTON, January 7. /TASS/. The US believes that India and some other countries that maintain a relationship with Moscow and Kiev could help with settling the conflict in Ukraine, US State Department Spokesman Ned Price said on Friday.
"We took note of the Kremlin statement that the Kremlin is willing to engage in dialogue but only if the new territorial reality is recognized. That is a clear sign as any that Moscow has no genuine appetite to engage in dialogue and diplomacy that will lead to a just and durable peace. We ultimately hope to alter that calculus. We seek to alter that calculus by continuing to provide Ukraine with the security assistance it needs," the spokesman said at a news conference.
"We are confident that countries like India at that moment may have a particular role to play and we welcome that," he said.
According to the spokesman, the US has been in "regular close contact with India regarding what we can do to hold Russia accountable and to impose additional costs on Russia" for the special military operation.
Washington and New Delhi "may not always share precisely the same policy approaches, but we both share a commitment to upholding a rules-based international order that respects territorial integrity and sovereignty that is at the heart of our global strategic partnership with India," he said. "We agree very much with India the restoration of an enduring peace in Ukraine is essential."
Price said the US believes that "countries like India, countries that have a relationship with Russia and with Ukraine, may be in a position to bring about dialogue and diplomacy that could one day put an end" to the conflict in Ukraine.