Von der Leyen\u2019s itinerary began with visits to local climate change initiatives
\n Washington
\nEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will press India over its neutral stance on the Ukraine war after arriving in the country on Sunday for trade, security and climate talks.
\nNew Delhi has long walked a tightrope in its relations with the West and Moscow — which supplies most of India\u2019s arms — and Russia\u2019s invasion of its neighbour has highlighted the difficulty of the balancing act.
\nPrime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government has not openly condemned the Kremlin or backed a UN Security Council vote that deplored Moscow\u2019s \u201caggression\u201d.
\nVon der Leyen\u2019s itinerary began with visits to local climate change initiatives, where she praised India for its \u201cambitious\u201d renewable power target and said the Ukraine war had thrown energy security issues into the spotlight.
\n\u201cFor us Europeans it is a stark reminder that our dependency on Russian fossil fuels is not sustainable,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cOur transition to homegrown renewable energy is not only good for the environment but it also becomes a strategic investment in security.
\nShe meets with Modi on Monday as the latest in a stream of recent diplomatic visitors seeking to lure India away from Russia with pledges of security, defence and energy cooperation.
\nUkraine was on the agenda when Modi hosted his British counterpart Boris Johnson this week, in a trip that culminated in the announcement of a new defence and security partnership.
\nJohnson\u2019s visit followed telephone talks with US President Joe Biden on the invasion last week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Von der Leyen\u2019s itinerary began with visits to local climate change initiatives Washington European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will press India over its neutral stance on the Ukraine war after arriving in the country on Sunday for trade, security and climate talks. New Delhi has long walked a tightrope in its relations with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257373,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1156,3501,195,456],"class_list":{"0":"post-257345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-agenda","9":"tag-european-union","10":"tag-india","11":"tag-ukraine"},"yoast_head":"\n