Biden pushes for India to cut oil ties with Russia at ‘productive’ meeting with Modi – live

Joe Biden made efforts to dissuade India from continuing to purchase oil from Russia during his earlier call with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, the White House says, but did not appear to have secured a commitment that it would do so.

At her afternoon briefing to reporters Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, characterised a “constructive, productive” video conference between the leaders, who discussed the conflict in Ukraine and India’s ongoing reliance on Russian crude.

India purchased millions of barrels of Russian oil at a discount in February as other nations were ramping up sanctions on the country for its invasion of Ukraine, drawing criticism from the US and several allies.

“What the president did … was to make clear what the impact of course of our sanctions would be. We expect everybody to abide by those,” Psaki said.

“India only imports about 1-2% of its energy from Russia. We also made clear and the president made clear that we would be happy to help them in diversifying this as well.

“The president also made clear that he does not believe it’s in India’s interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy, and other commodities as well,” she added, likely referring to India’s investment in Russian S-400 military air defense systems.

Asked if Modi had given any commitment to reduce or eliminate purchases of Russian oil, Psaki said “I’ll let prime minister Modi and the Indians speak to that.

“It was a constructive call, it was a productive call. It’s a relationship that is vitally important to the United States and to the president. I would not see it as an adversarial call.”

Joe Biden said it was “basic common sense” to want untraceable, so-called ghost guns off the street, during a White House address to announce new firearms restrictions.

In an event at the Rose Garden attended by numerous survivors and families of victims of gun violence, the president said he was clamping down on the kit-form guns to try to prevent others joining the “terrible fellowship of loss.”

He also took a swipe at Republicans in Congress, and the gun rights lobby, including the national rifle association (NRA), that have opposed his efforts to enact reform.

“The gun lobby tried to tie up the regulations and paperwork for a long, long time. The NRA called this rule I’m about to announce extreme,” Biden said.

“But let me ask you, is it extreme to protect police officers? Extreme to protect our children? Extreme to keep guns out of the hands of people who couldn’t even pass a background check?

“The idea that someone on a terrorist list can purchase one of these guns is extreme. Extreme? It’s not extreme. It’s just basic common sense.”

Biden’s order will require ghost guns to be allocated serial numbers when they are sold, either in the first instance as kits, or if they are resold in assembled form.

But he acknowledged “this should be just the start” in terms of gun restrictions.

“I’ll continue to push Congress to act on sensible legislation,” he said announcing what he said would be a “comprehensive strategy to supercharge” such measures.

“We need Congress to pass universal background checks. And I know it’s controversial, but I got it done once: ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines.”

Joe Biden’s administration is announcing new firearms restrictions in a ceremony at the White House, at which the president is also unveiling his pick to head the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms (ATF).

Biden, for once, is not making the initial presentation, instead standing by in his sunglasses in the Rose Garden sunshine, alongside the deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco, as the vice-president Kamala Harris announced the clampdown on untraceable “ghost guns.”

Such weapons are cheaply and readily available in kit form on the internet.

“Our nation continues to be plagued by an epidemic of gun violence,” Harris said.

“Traditional guns are required to have serial numbers, which can help law enforcement identify firearms that have been stolen from its lawful owner, or found at the scene of a crime.

“Ghost guns have no serial numbers. They are practically untraceable making it more difficult for law enforcement to hold to account those who use weapons to do violence because of how easy they are to access and how difficult they are to trace.

“Ghost guns pose an especially grave threat to the safety of our communities.”

Rashida Tlaib, Democratic congresswoman for Michigan, has announced she has tested positive for Covid-19, the first public acknowledgement of an infection by a prominent Washington figure this week, after a recent flurry.

Tlaib joins, among others, the House speaker Nancy Pelosi, senators Joaquin Castro and Susan Collins, Biden administration officials Tom Vilsack and Gina Raimondo, the mayor of Washington DC Muriel Bowser, and the attorney general Merrick Garland, who all announced they had received positive tests last week.

Tlaib, who says she is vaccinated and boosted, is experiencing symptoms, according to her tweet, and is currently isolating.

The White House has released more details of its soon-to-be-announced restrictions on “ghost guns.”

A fact sheet issued to accompany Joe Biden’s afternoon address from the Rose Garden says all such weapons put up for sale must be allocated a serial number so they can be traced in future.

Ghost guns are those assembled from kits, often purchased online, and without serial numbers, making it difficult, if not impossible to track them.

According to the fact sheet:

This final rule bans the business of manufacturing the most accessible ghost guns, such as unserialized ‘buy build shoot’ kits that individuals can buy online or at a store without a background check and can readily assemble into a working firearm in as little as 30 minutes with equipment they have at home,” the White House fact sheet states.

This rule clarifies that these kits qualify as “firearms” under the Gun Control Act, and that commercial manufacturers of such kits must therefore become licensed and include serial numbers on the kits’ frame or receiver, and commercial sellers of these kits must become federally licensed and run background checks prior to a sale – just like they have to do with other commercially-made firearms.

The final rule will also help turn some ghost guns already in circulation into serialized firearms. Through this rule, the Justice Department is requiring federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths taking any unserialized firearm into inventory to serialize that weapon.

At her afternoon briefing, the White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked if she thought Biden’s new rules would hold up in the face of expected stiff Republican opposition. Despite holding a majority in both houses of Congress, Democrats have been unable to progress gun control measures by way of legislation.

“The president is confident in any executive order and the legal authority that he puts forward,” she said.

“But what’s important to note about the announcement he is making today is that this is a rule that is supported by law enforcement. It is a rule that will help address what we know is a rising component of gun crimes across the country.”

Joe Biden made efforts to dissuade India from continuing to purchase oil from Russia during his earlier call with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, the White House says, but did not appear to have secured a commitment that it would do so.

At her afternoon briefing to reporters Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, characterised a “constructive, productive” video conference between the leaders, who discussed the conflict in Ukraine and India’s ongoing reliance on Russian crude.

India purchased millions of barrels of Russian oil at a discount in February as other nations were ramping up sanctions on the country for its invasion of Ukraine, drawing criticism from the US and several allies.

“What the president did … was to make clear what the impact of course of our sanctions would be. We expect everybody to abide by those,” Psaki said.

“India only imports about 1-2% of its energy from Russia. We also made clear and the president made clear that we would be happy to help them in diversifying this as well.

“The president also made clear that he does not believe it’s in India’s interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy, and other commodities as well,” she added, likely referring to India’s investment in Russian S-400 military air defense systems.

Asked if Modi had given any commitment to reduce or eliminate purchases of Russian oil, Psaki said “I’ll let prime minister Modi and the Indians speak to that.

“It was a constructive call, it was a productive call. It’s a relationship that is vitally important to the United States and to the president. I would not see it as an adversarial call.”

Joe Biden and Narendra Modi are talking now over a video link about the conflict in Ukraine and what Biden said is: “Our close consultation on how to manage the destabilizing effects of this Russian war.”

The US president and Indian prime minister are in a private session, at which Biden is expected to raise US concerns over India’s perceived closeness to Moscow and its continuing investment in Russian oil and military systems.

But the mood was lighter as Biden and Modi presented a collaborative front in the public portion of their meeting, aired live on the White House website.

“At the root of our partnership is a deep connection between our people, a family of friendship and a shared value,” Biden said, as Modi appeared on a giant screen before him.

“The people in Ukraine are suffering a horrific assault, including the tragic shelling in a train station last week that killed dozens of innocent children and women and civilians attempting to flee the violence. The United States and India are going to continue our close consultation on how to manage the destabilizing effects of this Russian war.”

Modi condemned Russian killings of Ukraine citizens and said India was “very worried” about the alleged atrocities in Bucha.

“We condemn the killings and have called for an independent inquiry,” he said, adding that India had contributed to the global effort to send help to Ukraine.

“We have also emphasized the importance of the security of civilians in Ukraine and the unhindered supply of humanitarian assistance to them.”

The press were asked to leave without the opportunity to ask questions, and the live feed went dark. It remains to be seen if Biden or Modi will make themselves available to reporters at the event’s conclusion.

Juneteenth will be a paid holiday for city workers in New York for the first time this year, mayor Eric Adams has announced, further crystalizing recognition of the date commemorating the end of slavery in the US and fulfilling a promise made by his predecessor Bill de Blasio.

He made the announcement in a Monday morning tweet citing the urgency of the declaration.

As the second Black mayor of New York City, I know that I stand on the shoulders of countless heroes and sheroes who put their lives on the line to secure a more perfect union. Now is the time for me to do a small part and recognize one of our nation’s greatest wrongs.

Juneteenth is a time for reflection, assessment, and self-improvement. People across the country of all races, nationalities, and religions unite on this day to truthfully acknowledge the stain of slavery and celebrate the countless contributions of Black Americans. It’s time for our city to finally do what’s right and officially designate Juneteenth as a city holiday.

This decision is long overdue, which is why it will immediately take effect this year.

De Blasio promised to make 19 June, the official date of Juneteenth, a paid day off in 2020 as racial protests swept the nation, but was never able to agree a deal with union leaders.

Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday last year, the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Gun controls are back on Joe Biden’s radar, with the president set to announce this afternoon restrictions on so-called ghost guns, those made from kits and without serial numbers, thus rendering them untraceable.

A number of gun law activists have been invited to attend the Rose Garden event at the White House, including victims’ parents from the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre in Parkland, Florida, the worst high school shooting in the US with 17 students and staff killed.

One of the activists, Manuel Oliver, whose 17-year-old son Joaquin was among the victims, has grown increasingly impatient in recent months over a perceived lack of action by Biden, who campaigned for the White House partly on a promise of gun reforms.

He and his wife Patricia, Joaquin’s mother, have toured the country using drama and urban art to highlight gun deaths and promote their call for meaningful reforms.

Oliver was arrested in Washington DC in February on the fourth anniversary of his son’s death, climbing a crane and unfurling a banner directed at Biden reading: “45k died from gun violence on your watch.”

That figure is now above 54,000, according to the website shockmarket.org, which tallies gun deaths in the US since Biden took office.

“See you tomorrow Potus, and thanks for the invitation,” Oliver tweeted on Sunday, crediting “Guac”, his son’s nickname, for helping prompt Biden towards action.

The president will also introduce Steve Dettelbach, a former justice department prosecutor, as his nominee for director of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives (ATF)

Read more about today’s announcement here:

A plain-talking Joe Biden is likely to greet the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, on their video call this morning, the president expected to seek a harder line from New Delhi towards Russia over the Ukraine war.

The US and allies are concerned by recent Indian actions, including abstaining from last week’s vote that saw Russia suspended from the United Nations human rights council, buying 3bn barrels of Russian crude while other nations were ramping up oil sanctions, and acquisition of Russia’s S-400 air defense systems.

According to the White House press secretary Jen Psaki, in a statement on Sunday, the Biden-Modi call will discuss: “Strengthening the global economy, and upholding a free, open, rules-based international order to bolster security, democracy, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”

To many analysts, the softer language conceals what is expected to be a resolute US president setting out some hard truths to his Indian counterpart, and that consequences await if Modi’s government continues to court Moscow.

Vivian Salama, the Wall Street Journal’s national security reporter, characterizes (in this tweet) talk of deepening “ties between our governments, economies and people,” per Biden’s schedule announcing the meeting, thus: “This is White House speak for: ‘Potus to express deep disappointment in India’s ongoing ties with Moscow and will warn Modi about repercussions should he choose to accelerate energy imports from Russia.”

We’ll get the chance to assess the mood in the room when Biden and Modi appear briefly for reporters as they make the call, which is scheduled for 11am.

Good morning, happy Monday, and thanks for joining the blog for what promises to be another intriguing week in US politics.

Joe Biden will host a video call with the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi this morning, ostensibly billed as a meeting to “deepen ties between our governments, economy and people,” which the Wall Street Journal’s national security reporter Vivian Salama sees as White House speak for: “Potus to express deep disappointment in India’s ongoing ties with Moscow and will warn Modi about repercussions should he choose to accelerate energy imports from Russia.”

The Russian war continues to escalate in eastern Ukraine in particular, and you can follow developments in our live 24-hour blog here.

Here’s what else we’re watching in the US today:

• Biden will announce measures to restrict “ghost guns” – made from kits and without serial numbers – in an address at the White House at 2.15pm. The president will also introduce Steve Dettelbach, a former justice department prosecutor, as his nominee for director of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives (ATF).
• A federal judge in Georgia could rule as early as today on a motion that could allow the progression of a lawsuit to disqualify the far-right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress as an insurrectionist.
• The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, will deliver her first briefing of the week at 1pm.
• The vice-president, Kamala Harris, will announce new action on relieving medical debt later this afternoon.