Washington: The United States would welcome India's role in de-escalating the mounting tensions between Russia and Ukraine, a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"We certainly welcome any efforts to de-escalate and we are in touch with a range of allies and partners on this, but I don't have any specific conversations to read out that relate to Indian officials," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki a press briefing.
This comes as Ukraine received a new package of military assistance from the United States that includes modern equipment and ammunition. Tensions over Ukraine have increased in recent months, with Russia and NATO accusing each other of amassing troops on the Russian-Ukrainian border, according to Sputnik.
The United States and Ukraine accuse Russia of preparing to invade. Moscow denies the claims and maintains that it has no intention of attacking any country. Meanwhile, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies are putting forces on standby and sending additional ships and fighter jets to NATO deployments in eastern Europe, reinforcing Allied deterrence and defence as Russia continues its military build-up in and around Ukraine.
The US Department of Defense has also announced that nearly 8,500 US troops have been put on heightened alert for a possible deployment due to escalating tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border. John Kirby, the Defense Department's spokesperson, said on Monday during a press briefing that putting US forces on heightened alert is to ensure that the US will get ready to respond to a possible decision by NATO to deploy its 40,000-strong multinational response force known as NRF, which could be shored up on short notice.
"This is really about reassuring the eastern flank of NATO," Kirby said, adding the order, which came from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the direction of President Joe Biden, was about "proving how seriously the US takes our commitment to NATO" and to the alliance's collective defense commitment, Xinhua news agency reported.
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