'Long-term proposition': US lowers expectations on India cutting ties with Russia

Washington, D.C. (US): It is going to be a long-term proposition for India - which has a decades-old relationship with Moscow - to reorient its foreign policy away from Russia, the United States has said.

It said it was working "very closely" with India through the Quad as well as other forums.

"It is not for me to speak about another country's foreign policy. But what I can do is point out what we have heard from India. We have seen countries around the world speak clearly, including with their votes in the UN General Assembly against Russia's aggression in Ukraine. But we also recognise, as I was saying just a moment ago, that this is not flipping a light switch," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters.

"This is something that, especially for countries that have historical relationships with Russia. Relationships that, as is the case with India, extend back decades, it is going to be a long-term proposition to re-orient foreign policy away from Russia," he said in response to a question.

The United States, he said, has worked very closely with India bilaterally and through the Quad "to signal, and the Indians have done so very clearly what should be the inviolable principle of state sovereignty".

Price was responding to a series of questions on a multilateral joint military exercise that involves Russia and China and several other countries, including India.

"Countries routinely make their own sovereign decisions. It is absolutely their right to do so regarding what, if any, military exercises to take part in. I'll also note that most of the participating countries also routinely participate in a wide array of military exercises and exchanges with the United States as well," he said.