US values bilateral relationship with India: White House

The United States values its bilateral relationship with India, the White House said Tuesday noting that in the context of Russia every country has to make its decision.

India is a very key strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific region. And there's many ways that that partnership represents itself, both in defense and security, economic as well, White House Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters.

We will let Indian leaders speak to their economic policies. What I can just tell you is we value this bilateral relationship with India and we continue to want -- obviously, every country has to make their decisions for themselves, he said when asked about the Indian decision to purchase oil from Russia.

These are sovereign decisions. But we want as much pressure put internationally on Russia as possible. There needs to be costs and consequences for what Mr Putin is doing, Kirby told reporters at a White House news conference.