Jaishankar speaks with Blinken, discuss Indo-Pacific, Ukraine situation

EAM S Jaishankar spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and discussed developments pertaining to the Indo-Pacific, Ukraine and the global economy.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and discussed developments pertaining to the Indo-Pacific, Ukraine and the global economy.

"Just completed a useful conversation with @SecBlinken. Reviewed the progress on our bilateral cooperation. Discussed developments pertaining to the Indo-Pacific, Ukraine and the global economy," Jaishankar tweeted.

India and the United States are scheduled to hold a 2+2 dialogue in Washington on April 11.

EAM Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will meet their counterparts Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh will also have other meetings scheduled on the sidelines.

The last 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the two countries was held in October 2020 in New Delhi.

Moreover, as Russia's war on Ukraine is set to enter its sixth week, the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine has now crossed the 4 million mark, the chief of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi said on Wednesday.

Notably, Russia launched its invasion last month after recognizing the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as "independent republics." Russia has since continued to maintain that the aim of its operations has been to "demilitarize" and "de-nazify" the country.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many Western nations and European countries have imposed tough sanctions on Russia targeting its economy and financial system.