US Democrats to visit UAE, India and Poland

Delegation includes Democratic Senators Mark Kelly, Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker

US Senator Mark Kelly during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, Washington, last month. AP

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A senior US Congressional delegation will visit the UAE, India, Poland, Germany and Nepal within days to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and bilateral relations with Washington.

Embarking on the nine-day trip is a group of four Democratic Senators and one House member, including Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, it was announced in an email on Sunday night.

The politicians said they would meet US troops in Poland “to learn how the US can continue to support Ukraine and our Nato allies against Russia’s unprovoked and unwarranted war”.

“In addition, the delegation will meet with a number of key foreign leaders in Poland, UAE, India, Nepal and Germany to strengthen ties during this period of heightened global tension,” the joint statement said.

Accompanying Mr Kelly will be fellow Democratic senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Ed Markey. Ms Gillibrand is chairwoman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee.

Also on the trip is Democratic Congress member Mondaire Jones of New York.

Ryan Bohl, senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at Rane, said the trip was arranged to attract more support for Ukraine, especially from countries, including the UAE and India, that have remained neutral on Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.

“For the Americans, the UAE’s and India’s neutral stance between the Russians and Ukrainians is something they’d like to change,” Mr Bohl told The National.

Helena, right, and her brother Bodia, from Lviv, wait at the Medyka border crossing in eastern Poland. AFP

A brother and sister share a bowl of soup after they and their mother fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine and crossed the border at Medyka, Poland. Reuters

Nadia, a Ukrainian woman, walks around with her baby in a car park in Przemysl, Poland as she waits for help with transport and accommodation. Reuters

A woman searches through donated clothes for useful items after she and her children fled the Russian invasion in Ukraine and crossed the border in Medyka, Poland. Reuters

Oksana, 30, holds a seven-day-old child after arriving by bus at a rendezvous point organised to help Ukrainian refugees with accommodation and transport to different cities in Poland. Reuters

Refugees wait for help in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters

People wait in a Polish car park to help refugees arriving from Ukraine. Reuters

A father kisses his daughter after she, her mother and grandmother fled from the Russian invasion in Ukraine and crossed the border in Medyka, Poland. Reuters

Refugees wait for help in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters

Ukrainian refugees in the town of Maroz near Olsztyn, Poland. EPA

A Ukrainian refugee in the town of Maroz, Poland. EPA

Ukrainian refugees in the town of Maroz, northern Poland. EPA

Hospital employees and volunteers make hundreds of beds to prepare for an influx of Ukrainian refugees in Rzeszow, Poland. AP

Ukrainian refugees who arrived by evening train from Kiev to Warsaw are helped at the Warszawa Wschodnia railway station in the Polish capital. EPA

Ukrainian refugees arrive by train from Kiev at the Warszawa Wschodnia station in Warsaw. EPA

Ukrainian refugees arrive by train from Kiev to Warsaw, Poland. EPA

Ukrainian refugees arrive from the Medyka border crossing in eastern Poland. AFP

A man hugs a child at the Polish-Ukrainian border crossing in Medyka, Poland. Getty

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in Morocco on March 29.

Last week, the US held a high-level strategic dialogue with India in Washington.

Mr Blinken hosted Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar, and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin met Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Pentagon.

Calming the oil markets and strengthening the sanctions regime on Russia are items sure to come up during the trip, Mr Bohl predicted.

“Ahead of the midterms [in November], Democrats are looking for wins they can sell at home as well, so these trips are certainly political in nature,” the expert said.

Two Republican members of Congress, senator Steve Daines and Ukrainian-born congresswoman Victoria Spartz, met Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and Bucha last week.

US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar holding a videoconference with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss Russia's war with Ukraine from Washington. Reuters

Mr Biden looks pensive during the meeting, with Mr Modi on the screen in the background. Reuters

The meeting took place at the White House in Washington. EPA

Lloyd Austin, US Defence Secretary, was also in attendance. EPA

The White House did not disclose whether India made any commitments to Mr Biden on energy imports from Russia. EPA

The hour-long talks were 'warm and productive', one official said, although Mr Biden made no major demands of India and there was no indication of significant progress toward a unified stance on the conflict in Ukraine. Reuters

Mr Biden began the meeting by highlighting the 'deep connection' between India and the US and said he wanted to continue their 'close consultation' over the war. AP

Mr Biden last month said that India was an exception among Washington's allies with its 'somewhat shaky' response to the Russian offensive. Reuters

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stands with Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh as they play the National Anthem during an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington on Monday. AP

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh at the Pentagon. AP

Mr Biden and Mr Modi met in person at the Oval Office of the White House, in September 202. AP