Fine With India-Russia Talks: U.S

WASHINGTON: The United States said it has no problem with India’s engagement with Russia, but cautioned it was not the right time to have trade deals with Moscow because of a series of international sanctions against it.

“It does not mean that India should not engage with Russia,” a senior State Department official said when asked about the official U.S statement in the past few days that this is not the time to do business with Russia.

“We engage with Russia on Iran. We engage with Russia on a range of issues,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

U.S Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed over phone the situation in the Middle East, including recent developments in Israel, the West Bank and the region, as well as current initiatives at the United Nations, a top State Department official said.

“It (not doing business with Russia) just means that countries around the world do not move forward with the same kind of economic relationship which they have done in the past given that sanctions that are put in place by a number of countries,” the official said, referring to the U.S and EU sanctions against Russia over Ukraine crisis.

READ MORE: Elite Sportsmen Who Left The Field In A Blink Of An Eye and Little Has Changed; Modi Should Ensure Women's Security: Parents