The State Department retracted a cable to US diplomats instructing them to inform counterparts in India and the United Arab Emirates that their stance of neutrality on Ukraine puts them into the Russian camp, Axios reported.

The retraction of the strongly worded cable indicates either a technological error or a political dispute within the US government involving two key allies.

Diplomatic cables are typically circulated through the relevant parties at the State Department and are vetted by numerous officials before they are cleared for transmission to embassies. These are the main ways to bring decisions and instructions on the domestic policy of states to diplomats abroad.

On Monday, the cable was sent to US embassies in nearly 50 countries represented on the UN Human Rights Council, but was withdrawn on Tuesday afternoon.

Axios, who saw the telegram fragments, contacted the State Department for comment this morning.

The wording mentioned was never intended to be verified and the cable was issued in error, so it has been retracted, a State Department spokesman said.

The cable, which is considered confidential but not classified, invited US diplomats to use explicit language to try to convince India and the UAE to change their position.

Continuing calls for dialogue, as you did in the Security Council, is not a position of neutrality; it puts you in the camp of Russia, the aggressor in this conflict, the draft abstract in the telegram, a template for conversations with Indian and Emirati diplomats, says.

Both countries are major partners of the US.

India is a key ally in the US effort to counter China. The UAE is an active player in the Persian Gulf, an oil supplier and recipient of billions of dollars of US defense and military assistance.

On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution - supported by 141 countries - condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine. India abstained; The UAE voted in favor.

India, the UAE and China abstained last week on a US-sponsored Security Council resolution condemning Moscow's "aggression". As a result, Russia vetoed it. The UAE's decision to abstain was largely driven by disappointment over the US response to the Abu Dhabi attack six weeks earlier.