Quad meeting in Tokyo

Biden spent most of his opening statement criticizing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The joint statement issued by the four leaders also touched upon the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. But the statement only said the four leaders "reiterated our strong resolve to maintain peace and stability in the region." It did not name Russia. The statement was also much weaker than what Kishida said at the joint news conference with Biden the previous day. The Japanese leader criticized "unilateral attempts to change the status quo using force, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine." The word "invasion" was replaced with "conflict" in the statement. As host of the Quad meeting, Kishida said at a news conference on May 24, "During the session in which India participated, concerns were expressed about the tragic conflict." Due to the long historical ties between India and Russia, India has not openly criticized the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The exclusion of Russia's name from the Quad joint statement shows the consideration given to India by the three other nations. The four leaders did agree to provide at least $50 billion (about 6.3 trillion yen) for infrastructure support and investment in the Indo-Pacific region over a five-year period.

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