A senior White House official said on Friday India's position at the United Nations over the Ukraine crisis has been "unsatisfactory" but was also “unsurprising” given its historical relationship 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 close ties with Russia, according to a Reuters report from Washington.

"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 close ties with the US and is a key partner in the Indo-Pacific Quad grouping aimed at reining in an aggressive China. But it also has a long-standing friendship with Russia, which is the main supplier of its defence equipment. Moscow has also supported India over the Kashmir issue at the UN which has been raked up by Pakistan on various occasions.

India has maintained a neutral position on the Ukraine crisis and abstained from voting against Russia in the UN Security Council on the issue.

Ms Rapp-Hooper said India had moved closer to Russia to bolster its defence since its relationship with China worsened.

"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," she said.

India had also gone ahead with purchase of Russia's S-400 air defence system despite pressure from the US against the deal. The purchase of the defence system was essential in view of the Chinese military build-up on the Ladakh border.

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

Earlier this week US President Joe Biden had said India was an exception among Washington's allies with its "shaky" response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, “India has always maintained a steadfast and consistent position on the Russia-Ukraine war, as per which it has called for an immediate end to violence and to solve the crisis via talks and diplomacy.”

New Delhi has also pointed out that it was in touch with both Ukraine and Russia and was ready to play its part in facilitating the peace process between the two countries.

According to media reports, there appears to be a sharp difference between the hardliners in the US administration and the more reasonable amongst them who are willing to accept that India has long standing strategic and security ties with Russia.

The US State Department had earlier withdrawn a controversial diplomatic cable sent to 50 of its embassies worldwide stating that India and UAE’s neutral position on Ukraine at the UN puts them in “Russian camp.”

The cable had asked the US diplomats to build pressure on their Indian and UAE counterparts to vote against Russia. While the UAE did vote against Russia at the UN General Assembly after the cable was sent, India stood firm on staying neutral and abstained from voting.

The US State Department said the cable has been withdrawn because it included “inaccurate language and was released in error.”

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price has gone on record in understanding India’s stand.

"We share important interests with India. We share important values with India. And we know India has a relationship with Russia that is distinct from the relationship that we have with Russia. Of course, that is okay," Price had told journalists at a press conference in Washington.

Also read: India has a special relationship with Russia and that is okay, says top US official