NEW YORK: President Joe Biden expects Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its impact on energy and food to be "a central" topic of conversation when India's top diplomatic and defense leaders meet, said  his spokesman Jen Psaki.

Under the cloud of differences of opinion over approaches to the Russian invasion, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for their 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Washington on Monday.

"President Biden considers our relationship with India to be one of the most important relationships we have in the world," Psaki said at a press conference in Washington on Friday.

"Both sides will continue their close conversations on the repercussions of President Putin's cruel campaign against Ukraine, as well as minimizing the impact by addressing energy and food prices," Biden added.

The State and Defense Departments in Washington and the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi made separate official releases on the 2+2 that did not reference Ukraine and instead focused on the Indo-Pacific.

Biden expects Blinken and Lloyd to "continue driving forward our work with India and our shared goals in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world," according to Psaki, referring to Biden's virtual summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last month.

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