Quad leaders to hold virtual meeting on Thursday, India says
March 3, 2022, 7:59 am

Quad leaders to hold virtual meeting on Thursday, India says

President Joe Biden-United States President/Official Facebook page

The Arab News reported, citing Reuters, New Delhi said that quad leaders US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday.

India’s foreign ministry said in a statement the meeting follows their September summit in Washington and that they would “exchange views and assessments about important developments in the Indo-Pacific.”

The report noted, it was not clear if the Ukraine crisis would be discussed too. Among the partners, only India has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the major arms supplier for the Indian military.

It was not immediately clear on whose request the surprise meeting was called. None of the Quad countries had flagged it earlier.

Jama masjid in New Delhi, India (File photo: Pixabay)

The report mentioned that Biden was originally scheduled to attend a summit of the grouping in May. Quad foreign ministers met in Australia early last month and pledged to deepen cooperation to ensure the Indo-Pacific region was free from “coercion,” a swipe at China’s economic and military activities.

Quad countries vow for free and open Indo-Pacific region

It noted, China has denounced the Quad as a Cold War construct and a clique “targeting other countries.”

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.