US disappointed about symbolism and timing of Modi's Moscow trip, says official

The United States is disappointed about the symbolism and timing of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Russia visit at a time when it hosted the NATO summit here a senior State Department official has told the lawmakers who have expressed concerns over the increasing IndiaRussia tiesI could not agree with you more about our disappointment about the symbolism and the timing of Prime Minister Modis trip to Moscow We are having those tough conversations with our Indian friends Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu told American lawmakers at a Congressional hearing here on TuesdayI assure you maybe if I could just take a moment to put into context that visit Prime Minister Modi two weeks before he went to Moscow also saw President Zelenskyy on the margins of the G7 summit in Italy he saidThen we were looking very carefully at what Modi did when he was in Moscow We did not see any new major defense deals We saw no major discussion of technology cooperation In addition you have Modi having said in front of Putin on live television his feeling that the war in Ukraine could not be won on the battlefield and the pain that he felt watching the death of children in war Lu saidA clear reference to the bombing of the childrens hospital in Kyiv that happened while he was there I share your concern about this visit sir and we are trying very hard to communicate those concerns directly to the Indians The Indians who have cancelled billions of dollars in defense purchases over these last two and a half years because the Russians cant deliver anymore So were working very hard on that Lu saidHe was responding to a question from Congressman Joe Wilson a former cochair of the Caucus of India and Indian Americans in this regardI was shocked and saddened to see the embrace by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who I so respect and admire embrace war criminal Putin in Moscow on the very day that Putin intentionally launched missiles at the largest childrens hospital in Kyiv Ukraine he saidPrime Minister Modi is a hero of mine who I have visited in New Delhi have welcomed twice to address Congress along with being present with Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina at Madison Square Garden and New York City I was with President Donald Trump at the Howdy Modi welcome for Prime Minister Modi 40000 people there in Houston Texas and it turned out its something I know It was the largest assemblage of millionaires in the history of the world the Republican Congressman saidThe Indian American community has been so successful The future of India should be with democratic free markets as we have seen Indian Americans have achieved the highest level of income of any immigrant group in the United States In fact Indian Americans make twice the income of the average American and indeed its due to association with democracy not dictatorship and the dictatorship that world criminal Putin is trying to restore the failed Soviet Union and he wants to oppress first the people of Russia Wilson saidIts to the benefit not of the people of Russia but to the oligarchs just as the communist regime was to benefit the ranking members of the Communist Party With that in mind India should be a beacon for democracy and not dependent on a dictatorship What can be done to promote India not being dependent on inferior Russian weapons and cheap commodities And we know that the gas thats being purchased the funding of that is going to kill Ukrainians he addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever