India’s decision not to vote on a UN Security Council decision to stop Russia from invading Ukraine does not mean supporting Moscow, experts say, but it does show New Delhi’s reliance on its Cold War counterpart for strength, weapons and support in conflicts with neighbors. .
India on Friday regretted that the countries had abandoned the negotiating process but refused to vote with the United States over a decision that would mean changing its relations with Russia within 70 years. Russia opposed the decision while China and the United Arab Emirates did not back down.
“We do not support Russia’s actions. Self-control. It should be done under these circumstances, ” he said. Parthasarthy, India’s retired ambassador.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for “an immediate end to violence.” Modi called for an effort to return to diplomacy, saying that “the differences between Russia and the NATO alliance can only exist. It has been resolved through honest and sincere negotiations.”
Earlier, India relied on Soviet support and its veto power in the Security Council in its dispute over Kashmir with its long-time rival Pakistan.
The Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan, but both claim the whole. India accuses Pakistan of backing Kashmir rebels in past tensions with tens of thousands of people and forcing nuclear weapons rivals to fight in two wars.
India watches as Prime Minister of Pakistan arrives in Moscow as Russia begins to invade Ukraine. Putin met Khan about three hours during the crisis.
The Ukrainian war not only added to the challenges New New Delhi in Kashmir faced but also its mountainous border with China. Both Pakistan and China appear to be on the Russian side, with India believing that Moscow has the potential to change Beijing’s stronghold on the border issue.
The conflict in June 2020 on the China-India border dispute changed their already strained relations as rival soldiers fought with stones, clubs and boxing. At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed. Tensions persisted despite negotiations.
As the war continues in Ukraine, several organizations staged protests in the Indian capital on Saturday, demanding an end to Russian violence and pressuring the Indian government to release thousands of Indians, many of them students, trapped there.
Pratap Sen, a 20-year-old student, said India’s decision not to vote for the Security Council may not have been a good thing but it was the best option.
“ International politics is like west in the wilderness. (India) should balance between the US and the western world and Russia, India’s closest partner for decades, ” he said.
C. Raja Mohan, chief executive of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the problem was India’s continued reliance on Russian weapons.
“This is not just a vague question. But the fact is that India is in the middle of a war with China. “India is at loggerheads with China over a border dispute,” he said.
India and Russia have set a goal of $ 30 billion in bilateral trade by the end of 2025. India is also dependent on Russian oil and gas.
It imported 1.8 million tons of hot coal from Russia by 2021, and made up about 0.2% of Russia’s natural gas exported. The State-run Gas Authority of India Limited has a 20-year contract with Russia’s Gazprom for 2.5 million tons of natural gas per annum, which began in 2018, according to Indian media reports.
Modi and Putin met last year to discuss defense and trade relations, and signed an agreement to expand their military technology cooperation over the next decade.
India’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 arrow systems, which it considers important in the war against China, may be seen as an annoyance in the Indo-U.S. bonds. The S-400 is a high-performance air defense system and is expected to provide India with a strategy to block rivals China and Pakistan.
New Delhi has sought support from Washington and its allies in dealing with China, which is the same reason for the Indo-Pacific security alliance known as “ Quad ” between Australia and Japan.
And India has been splitting its arms purchases with U.S. equipment. During the presidency of Donald Trump, the US and India concluded more than $ 3 billion in defense agreements. The bilateral defense trade rose from close to zero in 2008 to $ 15 billion by 2019.
As the Ukrainian crisis deepens, India’s real problem is the way international sanctions are waged against Russia.
The missile system agreement with Moscow puts India under threat of US sanctions, after Washington asked its counterparts to stay away from Russian military equipment.
“The crisis in India has just begun. Its urgent need is to break its reliance on Russian weapons, ” Raja Mohan said.
Noor Ahmed Baba, a political scientist, said Western nations would not be happy with India, but would probably not be able to completely separate themselves from New Delhi.
“Well, countries are balancing principles with real politics and communication,” he said. “It is not only India’s advantage to have the West, but also the need for India.”