The US discourages India from relying on its largest defence supplier, Russia, for its defence needs, citing the severe impact Western sanctions will have on Russia’s military-industrial complex following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, senior US officials said.

The remarks by senior Biden administration officials this week come as Western capitals have grown increasingly uneasy over India’s refusal to directly condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and its decision to buy discounted Russian oil.

“We’ve been very clear with India, and other countries, that we don’t want to see them rely on Russia for their defence needs. We’ve been candid about it and frustrated with it,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters in Washington on Friday held a press conference.

“At the same time, we also value our defence partnership with India. As demonstrated a week ago, we are looking for ways to improve the future.
This will continue, he said, because it is essential. “India is a security provider in the region, and we value that,” Kirby said.
US State Department counsellor Derek Chollet said on Thursday that the Biden administration is very eager to work with India because of its defence capabilities and the diversity of defence suppliers.
Following the third EU-US dialogue on China in Brussels, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will work with India to help reduce its traditional reliance on Russian arms.
“India is a significant country for all of us. It’s a democracy. It’s a messed-up democracy, but so are we… They’re not a simple democracy, but they’re a young democracy country,” she said Thursday. “They are apprehensive about the People’s Republic of China (China).

They understand that their army is based on Russian weapons. There may not be a future for Russian weapons anymore because our sanctions have been withdrawn from the Russian military-industrial complex. It will not be restored anytime soon, she responded by saying about India’s response to Russia’s Weapon Dependence.
“We will work with India to support them as a growing, important, important democracy. By 2030, they will be the biggest, biggest rich class, biggest middle class, probably the biggest poor Class. They are the biggest, and they are our partners in the Quad with Australia and Japan.”
In October 2018, India signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to buy five S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems to bolster its air defence capabilities, despite warnings from the Trump administration that it would go ahead with the contract. May incur U.S. sanctions.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for purchasing a batch of S-400 missile defence systems from Russia.