The United States wants to expand its coalition against Russia, but many Asian, African and Latin American countries maintain ties with Moscow despite efforts to isolate Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

READ MORE: Day by day war story

Brazil and India

Brazil voted in March for a UN resolution condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and President Jair Bolsonaro pushed for an end to the armed conflict through negotiations, but his country continues to buy fertilizer from Russia and Belarus, the NYT reported. At the same UN session in March, India and South Africa abstained.

As the daily wrote, India has a long-term strategic partnership with Russia and relies on its oil, fertilizers and military equipment. However, Indian authorities confirmed that imports from Russia were insignificant. During his visit to Washington in April, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister, revealed that the value of India’s monthly orders from Russia may be less than “what Europe buys in one afternoon.”

But now, with a partial embargo on Russian gas, Europe is cutting its energy imports while India is allegedly in talks with Moscow to increase oil supplies, the NYT wrote.

South Africa’s Relations with Russia

In turn, South Africa’s relationship with Russia dates back to the Cold War, when the Soviet Union supported the anti-apartheid movement, which ultimately changed the country’s internal power structure.

There was little trade between the two countries, but South Africa had long been wary of Western colonialism and the United States as an unrivaled superpower.

– American daily commentary.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accused NATO of provoking Russia to attack Ukraine. During a phone call in April, US President Joe Biden urged Ramaphosa to provide a “clear and unified response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” according to a White House statement. A month later, Ramaphosa lamented the impact the conflict had on “outside” countries, which he said “will also be subject to sanctions against Russia.”

As “NYT” points out, Brazil, India and South Africa, along with Russia and China, are members of a group of countries that account for a third of the global economy. At an online meeting of the group’s foreign ministers in May, Moscow proposed the creation of a joint oil and gas refinery with its partners. The group is also discussing expanding its membership to other countries.

Talks with Saudi Arabia

According to the American daily, the urgent need for action by the Biden administration is embodied in the president’s plans to visit Saudi Arabia. Biden’s efforts are aimed at getting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help deal with the war in Ukraine. The US wants to persuade these countries to coordinate significant increases in oil production to help lower world oil prices, the NYT wrote.

America: China clearly speaks in favor of Russia

US officials believe China has clearly chosen to side with Russia. Three weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing, where the two governments declared an “unlimited” partnership. In late May, China and Russia carried out their first joint military maneuvers since the start of the war, sending bombers into the seas of Northeast Asia during Biden’s visit to Japan, the daily recalled.

At the same time, China has refrained from providing financial or military assistance to Russia, despite requests from Moscow, US officials said. Biden warned Xi during an interview in March that there would be “consequences” if China helped Russia materially, and Chinese officials and businessmen were concerned about sanctions.

Secondary sanctions bite, and China doesn’t want their business to be affected

Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said.

Many Russian sources tell me that they speak Chinese but get no response

– added.

olnk / PAP