© ReutersUS President Joe Biden and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, US in 2021.
India's neutral stance in the war has raised concerns in Washington and earned praise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who lauded India this month for judging "the situation in its entirety, not just in a one-sided way."
Most recently, India abstained when the UN General Assembly voted on Thursday to suspend Russia from its seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council over allegations that Russian soldiers in Ukraine engaged in rights violations that the US and Ukraine have called war crimes.
Comment: Russia requested the opportunity to present evidence that Ukraine was responsible for the Bucha false flag and, in turn, not only was Russia denied, but then a shady resolution was quickly drawn up and Russia was suspended from the UN human rights body; regarding the suspension, China said it had set a 'dangerous new precedent'.
The vote was 93-24 with 58 abstentions.
In the virtual meeting, Biden will talk about the consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine "and mitigating its destabilising impact on global food supply and commodity markets," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Sunday.
Comment: Both these markets were suffering serious problems prior the West's ramping up of its proxy-war against Russia in Ukraine, however Western sanctions definitely are making matters many times worse.
They'll discuss "strengthening the global economy, and upholding a free, open, rules-based international order to bolster security, democracy, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific," she said.
Comment: Hilarious.
India continues to purchase Russian energy supplies, despite pressure from Western countries to avoid buying Russian oil and gas. The US has also considered sanctions on India for its recent purchase of advanced Russian air defence systems.
Last month, the state-run Indian Oil Corp bought 3 million barrels of crude from Russia to secure its needs, resisting entreaties from the West to avoid such purchases. India isn't alone in buying Russian energy, however. Several European allies such as Germany have continued to do so, despite public pressure to end these contracts.
Indian media reports said Russia was offering a discount on oil purchases of 20 per cent below global benchmark prices.
Iraq is India's top supplier, with a 27 per cent share. Saudi Arabia is second at around 17 per cent, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 13 per cent and the US at 9 per cent, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Comment: Notably this virtual meeting follows one scheduled between delegates from India and Britain but that was cancelled at the last minute, apparently because Delhi didn't take too kindly to being told to 'distance' itself from its ally Russia.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted in the last few days, shortly after he warned that there was a "foreign conspiracy afoot to remove him from power, again, because of his favourable relations with Russia and China. Within hours of his removal, Pakistan's streets erupted in protest: Imran Khan's his party warn they will resign en masse
Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Kramatorsk False-Flag - Ukraine EU Delusion - Khan Ousted in Pakistan