'Unsatisfactory but unsurprising': US over India's stand on Russia-Ukraine war

However, the official noted said the India's position on the Ukraine crisis is unsurprising given new Delhi's close ties with Russia.

Mira Rapp-Hooper, director for the Indo-Pacific on the White House National Security Council, told an online forum hosted by Washington's School of Advanced International Studies that India needed alternatives to continued close ties with Russia.

"I think we would certainly all acknowledge and agree that when it comes to votes at the UN, India's position on the current crisis has been unsatisfactory, to say the least. But it's also been totally unsurprising," she said.

India has developed close ties with Washington in recent years and is a vital part of the Quad grouping aimed at pushing back against China.

However, India has a long-standing relationship with Moscow, which remains a major supplier of its defense equipment.

India has avoided condemning Russian actions in Ukraine and abstained from voting in UN Security Council.

"I think our perspective would be that the way forward involves keeping India close, thinking hard about how to present it with options so that it can continue to provide for its strategic autonomy," Rapp-Hooper said.

Rapp-Hooper said Washington and its allies and partners needed to look at their supply chains and think about how they can help countries to replace dependence on Russian defence systems.

"We have a number of partners that have chosen to keep their chips in with Russia, in terms of their defense procurement. in part as a hedge against China, but who are now in a place of reconsidering the wisdom of those decisions," she said.

"Not only will they need to make long-term decisions about how to potentially replace Russian systems in the immediate term, they will need to be able to get supplies and spare parts to be able to maintain their own militaries," Rapp-Hooper said.