In a meeting in New Delhi, the foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India in a joint statement on Friday said that Russia should not be allowed to wage war in Ukraine with impunity.
The so-called Quad Group also emphasized that the use or threat of use, of a nuclear weapon in Ukraine is not acceptable, and Russia should be extremely cautious with its decisions.
Following the recent escalations in the Ukraine conflict, and the rising tensions between Russia and the Western allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended significant nuclear arms control and threatened to resume nuclear tests, last month.
On the sidelines of the G20 Meeting a day earlier in New Delhi, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for the first time since the conflict began over a year ago. Blinken called on Moscow to end the war and reverse its suspension of the New START nuclear treaty, a senior US official said.
“If we allow with impunity Russia to do what it’s doing in Ukraine, then that’s a message to would-be aggressors everywhere that they may be able to get away with it too,” Blinken told a forum in India which was also attended by the Quad ministers.
Meanwhile, at the G20, the US and its allies called on member countries to pressurize Russia to end the war, however, they failed to agree on a joint statement due to the opposition from Russia and China in that matter.
It is worth mentioning that China did not agree with the Quad Group and criticized them for reviving the Cold War incentives, which would further deteriorate the relationship between Moscow and Washington.
