Answered: Why has US been unable to convince India to stay away from Russia?

"Russia is not a reliable energy source," said Ned Price, the United States State Department Spokesperson, when a journalist probed him on why the Joe Biden administration could not convince India to stay away from Russia.

Stating that the Biden administration was committed to working with India on its transition away from Russia, Price said many countries had learnt the hard way that Moscow is not a reliable source of energy or security.

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The US has consistently made the point when it comes to India's ties with Russia that it is a relationship that developed and was cemented over decades, he said, adding that the relationship solidified during the Cold War when the United States was not in a position to be an economic, security and military partner to India.

However, according to Price, that equation has changed over the last 25 years. 'It is a bipartisan legacy that this country has achieved over the past quarter century. President George W Bush's administration was really the first to put this into effect,' he said.

'We have always been clear-eyed that the transition will not take place overnight, or over a few months or a couple of years. India is a large country, a vast country, a large economy that has demanding needs,' he added.