New Delhi: The US has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ukraine on August 23 as “important”. The visit comes nearly six weeks after Modi’s visit to Russia. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard R Verma said the US understands India’s “long-term relationship” with Russia. Modi arrived in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, on Wednesday as part of his two-nation visit to Poland and Ukraine. The Prime Minister will be in Kiev for about seven hours on Friday. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to hold one-on-one and delegation-level talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The talks will focus on finding a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict.

‘India has to take a decision’

“I am very happy with this visit. I think it is an important visit – Poland and Ukraine,” Verma said at a dialogue session at the ‘Centre for Social and Economic Progress’ in Delhi. The senior Biden administration official said he appreciated Prime Minister Modi’s previous remarks in which he said that ‘this is not the era of war and it is a time for peace.’ Verma said, “We understand that India has a long-term relationship with Russia and India will have to decide for itself where it wants to stand on this scale.”

‘This is a crucial time’

Verma, who was the US ambassador to India, said, “This is a very crucial time to protect freedom, liberty and the rule of law.” The US and many of its allies were upset over the timing of Modi’s July 8-9 Moscow visit as it coincided with the NATO summit in Washington.

What is America’s thinking about Bangladesh

On the political developments in Bangladesh, Verma said that the US has been supporting the democratic process in that country. He said, “The situation has been difficult for the people there for the last few months. I do not want to get into the wrong and misleading information spread on social media.” Verma was responding to a question on allegations that the US had a hand in destabilising the previous government of Sheikh Hasina. He said, “We will support this transition.”