NEW YORK: The Quad leaders who convened in a spur-of-the-moment virtual summit would have their national security teams monitor the Ukraine crisis, said the White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Biden "asked members suggesting that they will discuss, I should say, having members of their national security team follow up from there," she said at her briefing on Thursday.
The national security teams were not mentioned in the joint statement issued by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as well as US President Joe Biden.
"They addressed the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and assessed its larger consequences," the statement simply stated. Psaki did not say what the teams will do next or how they will do it. She avoided a reporter's question about if India's military cooperation with Russia was discussed at the summit and whether the US intends to talk to India about it or what it intends to do about it.
"The President believed it was a constructive conversation," Psaki said. Modi's office said in a statement after the summit, "The meeting focused on recent events in Ukraine, especially their humanitarian implications. The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of returning to a diplomatic and dialogue approach." The leaders agreed to establish a humanitarian assistance programme in response to Ukraine, according to their joint statement.
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