US recalls message to diplomats blasting India, UAE for being in 'Russia’s camp' after refusal to condemn Ukraine invasion
US recalls message to diplomats blasting India, UAE for being in 'Russia’s camp' after refusal to condemn Ukraine invasion
A diplomatic cable sent to US embassies around the world saying that India and the UAE were supporting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine was 'released in error', a US official told Axios.
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The UAE voted to condemn Russian actions in Ukraine at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, while India abstained [Getty]
The US has withdrawn a message sent to its diplomats across the world saying that and the Ìýare "in Russia'sÌýcamp" after both countries refused to condemn Moscow's brutal invasion of Ukraine last week.
The message was sent on Monday to 50ÌýUS embassies around the worldÌýand was recalled on Tuesday afternoon, according to a new by Axios.
A State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday that the cable was recalled as "the language in question was never intended for clearance and the cable was released in error".
There has been anger in Washington over both countries' refusal to back the US in the UN overÌý against Ukraine.
India and the UAE abstained from a resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow also claimed that the UAE had effectively backed its invasion, after a phone call between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.
The UAE has since changed its stance and supported a similar resolution at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
An indication of the growing frustration some US officials are feeling about India’s position. Several senators also expressed exasperation about it at a US-India hearing yesterday. But, if they know Indian foreign policy, they shouldn’t be surprised.
— Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is US President Joe Biden at a meeting of the Quadrilateral Security DialogueÌýon Thursday.
The Quad - as it's also known - is a strategic security dialogue between the leaders of the US, Australia, Japan, and India aimed at limiting the spread of Chinese influence in Asia.
India and the UAE are key allies of both the US and Russia. India is the world's largest democracy and is key to the US’ plans to prevent the expansion of China's influence across Asia.
India maintains strong defence and trade ties with Moscow. India's purchase ofÌýthe S-400 air defence system from Moscow in 2018 .
ÌýThe UAE is the recipient of billions of dollars of American aid and is a key player in the Gulf.
It has recently with Israel, one of the US' strongest allies but has angered Washington over its growing relations with China.
Abu Dhabi is a key partner of Moscow and collaborates on energy strategy. They also appear to share the same mission of backing autocrats and military leaders across the Middle East.
Diplomatic cables are the primary method of communicating internal policy decisions from Washington to its diplomatic missions abroad.
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