US talking to India, China to isolate Russia on Ukraine issue

Washington: The United States says it is talking with India and China among others as part of diplomatic efforts to isolate Russia over its annexation of Crimea, but it has not yet asked them to impose any sanctions. “Well, I don’t think we’re there yet. Obviously, we’ve been consulting very closely with the Europeans about sanctions,” State Department spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters Friday when asked if the US was going to seek Iran-oil like sanction from countries outside NATO. “We have been talking with other countries diplomatically, though,” she said noting that in the Security Council vote last weekend, “it was significant that China, for example, abstained and did not vote with Russia.” “So, we are actively working on the diplomatic side to isolate Russia and that means with countries like China and India and others,” she said. “But on the oil part, we’re just not there yet.” [caption id=“attachment_1440235” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin. AP[/caption] In response to another question, Harf expressed disappointment over India abstaining from US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. “It is disappointing to us that India abstained from voting on this resolution when they voted yes for the last two years,” she said. “We have made our disappointment known to Indian officials. Beyond that, I’d refer you to them in terms of how they voted,” Harf said. IANS