Biden, other Quad leaders to meet virtually amid Ukraine war

The Associated Press

17:50 JST, March 3, 2022

NEW DELHI (AP) — President Joe Biden and the prime ministers of India, Australia and Japan will talk Thursday in a virtual meeting of the Indo-Pacific alliance known as the Quad that comes a week into the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said the leaders will “exchange views and assessments about important developments in the Indo-Pacific.”

The U.S., Australia and Japan supported a resolution at the U.N. General Assembly to demand an immediate halt to Moscow’s attack on Ukraine and the withdrawal of all Russian troops. India abstained from Wednesday’s vote.

The leaders of the Quad nations — Biden, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida — are also grappling with China, which the Quad countries have accused of economic coercion and unsettling military maneuvering.

The Quad Leaders will have an opportunity to continue their dialogue after their September summit in Washington hosted by Biden, Bagchi said.