Opinion | India’s neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine bolstered by mixed feelings towards the West

Name: Why India is walking a diplomatic tightrope over Ukraine-Russia crisis
Uploaded: 2022-04-14T17:00:22.000Z
Duration: 5 min 58 s
Description: Why India is walking a diplomatic tightrope over Ukraine-Russia crisis

Mistrust of Washington is a remnant of the Cold War era and Western coercion only rubs Indians the wrong way

The threat of sanctions against a developing country ravaged by the pandemic comes across as insensitive

Reading Time:4 minutes

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Art school students display their work calling for peace on February 21 in Mumbai, India. While many oppose the war in Ukraine, a large chunk of Indians favour Russia over the United States and the broader West. Photo: AP

Shairee Malhotra

Published: 1:00am, 15 Apr 2022Updated: 3:03am, 15 Apr 2022

Recent days saw a flurry of diplomatic traffic to New Delhi from across the globe to urge India to shift its neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. India’s position has garnered it some disfavour with its Western partners, particularly the United States and Europe.

The tipping point, though, is India’s increase in discounted Russian oil imports – at least 13 million barrels since the war began – amid Western sanctions and a spike in global crude prices.

During his trip to New Delhi, US deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh warned of “consequences” for countries circumventing Western sanctions. The entire readout of Singh’s comments was more nuanced, but headlines in India’s sensationalist media emphasised the US warnings. Signals from British foreign minister Liz Truss and German national security adviser Jens Plotner have also been mixed.

While consultations continue at the government level, the damage to broader Indian public opinion seems to be done.

05:58

Why India is walking a diplomatic tightrope over Ukraine-Russia crisis

While many oppose the war, a large chunk of Indians favour Russia over the United States and the broader West. Through sections of India’s right as well as left-leaning Twitterati plus India’s pro-BJP media, strong strains of anti-Western pro-Russian sentiment can be observed, with #IStandWithPutin hashtags trending.

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Opinion | India’s neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine bolstered by mixed feelings towards the West

Mistrust of Washington is a remnant of the Cold War era and Western coercion only rubs Indians the wrong way The threat of sanctions against a developing country ravaged by the pandemic comes across as insensitive

Mistrust of Washington is a remnant of the Cold War era and Western coercion only rubs Indians the wrong way

The threat of sanctions against a developing country ravaged by the pandemic comes across as insensitive