CANBERRA, Australia (TSAT) - Quad alliance of the US, India, Japan, and Australia likely to split as New Delhi refused to join them against Russia.

On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison to respond to his call to join them against Moscow over attack on Ukraine. 

“Our meeting today is, of course, set against the very distressing backdrop of the war in Europe, which must never happen in our own region, and I very much want to thank you for the partnership that we have,” Morrison told Modi, according to a statement by the Australian Prime Minister’s Office.

Morrison tried to push Modi to speak on the Ukraine situation and condemn the Russian attack, however Indian premier avoided talking about the Ukraine issue. 

Modi only focused to speak his country's bilateral relations with Australia and said New Delhi wants to further extend its ties with Canberra. 

“There is also good cooperation between us in the Quad framework. Our cooperation under the Quad demonstrates our commitment towards a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The success of Quad is essential for regional and global stability,” Modi said.

At the end of his opening statement, Modi asked journalists to leave them alone. “I would like to share my thoughts with you on the next agenda item and I would request all my friends from the media to leave us so that we can continue with the rest of the program,” he said.

Modi, didn’t want to speak Ukraine issue in presence of the media as he don’t want to criticize Moscow publically. 

On Friday, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also urged Modi to join Quad and condemn Russia during a joint news conference, however, Modi avoided his demand to respond.

Earlier, this month, US President Joe Biden also hosted the Quad leader's virtual meeting to make a joint strategy over Russia, however, the group failed to condemn Moscow in its joint statement because of India's opposition.