Image Source: TRIBUNE

The US slammed Russia on Thursday for calling the Indo-Pacific initiative a “divisive approach” to disrupt the existing regional structures and said the concept was not aimed at excluding any nation but was a “principled vision”.

In his address at the Raisina Dialogue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had on Wednesday strongly criticized the US-led Indo-Pacific initiative, aimed at containing China's influence in the region.

Responding to the criticism, US Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger said a free and open Indo-Pacific was not a bloc or military alliance, but a principled vision.