The two parallel announcements - from the Pentagon and State Department - did not make any mention of the Ukraine situation, which is the pre-occupation of the US and a point of difference with India, which has stayed neutral frustrating Washington

Of the South Asian countries, Afghanistan was absent from the Assembly, while all the others abstained

There’s an element of misinformed obsession reflective of what can be described as the racially differentiated approach of the US mainstream media to sanctions and India

The US has offered to help India with its energy needs and also in diversifying its defence needs to lessen the dependence on Russia

South Asian peacekeepers dominate the 14,000-strong military segment of the MONUSCO operation with 1,974 from Pakistan, 1,888 from India and 1,634 from Bangladesh in addition to the Nepalis

While making probably the harshest criticism of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the Indian diplomat straddled the fine line of neutrality by not naming Russia.

Given India’s pivotal role in the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy and its attempts to curtail China’s influence, Washington has generally been supportive of India despite its neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its purchases from Russia

The opposition has challenged the Pakistan Assembly dissolution before the Supreme Court, which heard the case on Monday but did not give a verdict

Garcetti's nomination was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee which held a hearing in December on his nomination and heard his testimony and questioned him

India has stayed neutral on seven Ukraine-related resolutions at the United Nations – including one on which the US also abstained – although New Delhi has criticised Russia's invasion obliquely