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To Isolate Russia, the West May Need the Global South. But is Modi Listening?

To Isolate Russia, the West May Need the Global South.  But is Modi Listening?

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcome India Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House on June 21, 2023 in Washington, DC. Modi will join Biden in the Oval Office tomorrow for bilateral talks, before speaking to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol building. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — A burgeoning inside-outside strategy against Russia may have seemed a bit more apparent on Thursday as the U.S. Congress welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also enjoyed an invitation to only the third state dinner President Joe Biden has offered since taking office. 

With the 40th U.S. military aid package set to be delivered inside Ukraine, American and Ukrainian leadership are also busy courting major nonaligned economies, such as India, in the hopes of adding outside pressure to Russia, while simultaneously reducing Chinese influence in the region. A key trading partner with Moscow, which has not joined U.S.-led sanctions, New Delhi is thought to be an economic lifeline for Russia, and an influential pressure-point with the Kremlin.

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