New Delhi: India’s stand on the Russia-Ukraine crisis continued to remain elusive, with Washington saying that the matter was still unresolved, while the Kremlin claimed that during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been “appreciative” of his “special military operation”.
US President Joe Biden in a press conference Thursday announced another set of “strong sanctions” against Russia and put “new limitations” on American exports to Moscow.
On being asked if he had had any discussions with India — and if, as a major defence partner of the US, New Delhi is on board with Washington on the Russia-Ukraine crisis — Biden said, “We’re going to be — we’re in consultation with — with India today. We haven’t resolved that completely.”
India was pronounced a ‘major defence partner’ of the US under the Barack Obama administration in 2016. India and the US are also part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, along with Japan and Australia.
In addition, India in the past few years has decided to be an ally of the US, as it became part of the Indo-Pacific strategic construct.
However, ever since the Ukraine crisis began, India has been attempting to take a neutral stand while stressing the need to follow the Minsk agreements and the Normandy format to reach a diplomatic solution to the problem.
According to diplomatic sources, however, New Delhi will “take a call” and “vote” on the proposed UN Security Council Resolution against Russia, which is being discussed at the UN. The resolution is expected to be adopted after a lengthy voting process late Friday.
Prime Minister Modi held a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on the issue Thursday, but it was more focussed on bringing Indian nationals stuck in Ukraine back to India.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, meanwhile, also held a phone-call with his US counterpart, Antony J. Blinken, and they discussed “Russia’s premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine,” said a statement issued by the US State Department.
“Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia’s invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire,” the statement said.
“Discussed the ongoing developments in Ukraine and its implications,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.
Appreciate the call from @SecBlinken.
Discussed the ongoing developments in Ukraine and its implications.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 24, 2022
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla Friday said India is “facilitating” dialogue between the sparring parties.
“So our focus in the UN Security Council has always been on de-escalation of tensions, on diplomatic dialogue as the only way forward, and we’ve also emphasised the existing agreements, the Minsk agreements, the Normandy format,” he said.
“We’ve also obviously placed the highest importance on the safety and security of our nationals in the Ukraine, in our statements in the UN Security Council,” he added.
He also said, “I think we have, as I said, maintained that people need to talk to each other, the parties need to be engaged and if there’s anything that we can do to facilitate that engagement, we are more than happy to do it. And I think, as we go along, we will try and be as helpful as possible.”
India’s time-tested relationship with Russia
India and Russia share a decades-old relationship that was upgraded last December when New Delhi and Moscow held a 2+2 format dialogue integrating more closely the foreign and defence ministries of the two countries.
According to a statement issued by India on the Modi-Putin phone call, the Prime Minister “appealed for an immediate cessation of violence, and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue.”
“President Putin briefed the Prime Minister about the recent developments regarding Ukraine. The Prime Minister reiterated his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue,” it said.
The Kremlin’s statement on the phone call said, “During the discussion of the situation around Ukraine, Vladimir Putin gave his principled assessment of Kiev’s aggressive actions against civilians in Donbass and also its long-standing destructive policy of seeking to dismantle the Minsk agreements.”
“In these circumstances and given how the United States and its NATO allies have been expanding their military presence in Ukraine, which is unacceptable to Russia, the decision was taken to launch a special military operation.”
It then added, “The Prime Minister of India was appreciative of the explanation and asked for assistance in ensuring the safety of Indian nationals who are currently in Ukraine.”
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)
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