Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of Japan and Australia took part in a suddenly convened “Quad Summit” hosted by U.S. President Joseph Biden on Thursday to announce a new mechanism for humanitarian assistance in the Indo-Pacific, and the impact of the Ukraine crisis on the region.
The meeting came even as deep divisions appeared within the Quad grouping, as India has chosen to abstain from every vote at the UN and other organisations that criticised the Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past week, while the U.S., Japan and Australia have been calling for a tough line on Moscow. A U.S. State Department cable that appeared in an online news report on Thursday — that was subsequently retracted as an “error” — said India’s abstentions place it in “Russia’s camp”.
“The Quad leaders discussed the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and assessed its broader implications. They agreed to set up a new humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mechanism which will enable the Quad to meet future humanitarian challenges in the Indo-Pacific and provide a channel for communication as they each address and respond to the crisis in Ukraine,” a joint statement issued by the White House said.
