The need for India to take an unambiguous position on Ukraine and one that isn’t seen as backing Russia was taken up by French authorities with Jaishankar, who visited France this week, reports Asian Lite News
With Russia having launched a military operation in Ukraine, India has come under pressure from the West to shed its posture of neutrality. Hours before the “invasion” started, India’s key European partner France, which currently also holds the EU Council presidency, said it wants India to speak up on the crisis.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar also received a call from EU high representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell on Thursday and the two discussed “the grave situation in Ukraine and how India could contribute to de-escalation efforts”.
France is currently spearheading EU’s efforts to punish Russia with financial sanctions that are likely to be intensified further after the Russian military action. While India has expressed concern over the situation and called repeatedly for diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, it has refrained from condemning Moscow’s actions. The latest military action by Russia though is likely to put a strain on India’s position with the US, France and other western partners piling on the pressure to take a tougher line on Russia.
The need for India to take an unambiguous position on Ukraine and one that isn’t seen as backing Russia was taken up by French authorities with Jaishankar, who visited France this week “Sanctions have been imposed because Russia has violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We hope that as a non-permanent member of UNSC, India will have a very strong language on the violation of the UN charter by Russia. This was on the agenda with Jaishankar,” said the adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
India’s position in the UNSC has so far favoured Russia more and Moscow has repeatedly thanked New Delhi for its role on the Ukraine issue. Russian acting ambassador to India Roman Babushkin, in fact, said on Wednesday that India’s activities in the Council reflected the merits of Russia’s strategic partnership with India.
Significantly, Jaishankar also said during his visit to France that the crisis had resulted from NATO expansion along with post-Soviet politics and Russia-West dynamics. While there are still doubts about how effective the sanctions against Russia might be, sources in Paris expressed confidence these will act as a deterrent for Moscow.
“Discussed the grave situation in Ukraine and how India could contribute to de-escalation efforts,”. Jaishankar tweeted about the call with European Union (EU) High Representative (HR/VP) Josep Borrell Fontelles, whose call was followed by the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. The EU, the UK and US have announced an “unprecedented package of sanctions” against Russia, and have each separately expressed their hopes that India would also support their positions.
In briefings ahead of Jaishankar’s visit to Germany and France last week, European diplomats had stressed that India would need to “pick a side” in the event of a Russian invasion or military attack on Ukraine, and would not be able continue to balance its ties with Moscow and its stated commitment to the international rules-based order.
To begin with, India must consider its response to the resolution on Russian actions that the U.S. proposes to table along with allies, which would include a condemnation of the airstrikes ordered by President Putin, an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of troops, as well as possibly put to vote proposed punitive action, including strict financial sanctions.
While the condemnation and actions will undoubtedly be vetoed by Russia, which is also at present holding the Presidency of the UNSC, all eyes will be on where countries like India will vote. In three statements made at the U.N. thus far, India has refrained from any criticism of Russian actions, and has repeatedly referred to the “legitimate security interests of all parties”. It also abstained on a vote to discuss the situation in Ukraine earlier this month, which was welcomed by Russian officials.
“There is still time for India to reconsider its position, given Russia has now attacked Ukraine,” said a western diplomat, adding, “Once the vote takes place, if India still abstains, then it will be seen simply as support for Russian aggression, and it will be much harder for India to credibly defend the international rule of law in its neighbourhood in the future.”
Government officials have thus far explained India’s stand as a “principled position” that is based on pushing for diplomacy to resolve the situation. In an interview to French daily Le Figaro, Mr. Jaishankar called the Ukraine crisis “the result of a complex chain of circumstances over the last 30 years”, referring to the post-Soviet rebalance, when many former Soviet states joined the NATO alliance. Russia has repeatedly protested this with the U.S. and EU, and tensions accelerated last year over the question of Ukraine’s membership of the NATO.
“The present deterioration of the security situation in Europe is a result of mismanagement or breakdown in big power relations. India should not be expected to pay the price for the failures of their policies,” observed Former Indian Ambassador to Russia Venkatesh Verma, speaking to The Hindu.
Apart from the hope that its long-standing partner Russia and its friends in the West de-escalate and resolve the situation through talks, India also has concerns over the impact of the sanctions on future energy and defence deals with Russia, as well as the inflationary price of oil that has breached the $100 a barrel mark. In addition, New Delhi’s choices are made more difficult by the fact that its two biggest adversaries- China and Pakistan, have come out in full support of Russia, as evidenced by the meeting in Moscow between President Putin and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, and a call between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday.
While evacuating Indian civilians from the conflict zone is a priority, the government must mull all the diplomatic repercussions of the crisis, making it difficult to disengage from the situation in Europe, despite the distance.
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