Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: India backs off berating Putin to get weapons for China border fight

India abstained twice on a UN resolution denouncing Russia’s aggression as it needs the country’s weaponry amid border tensions with Beijing
Moscow has been one of New Delhi’s biggest arms suppliers since the Cold War and also backed the government’s hardline policies in Kashmir

Ukraine

Bloomberg

Published: 2:46pm, 3 Mar 2022

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India plans to avoid condemning Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as it needs Russian weapons in its stand-off with China, and officials in New Delhi are confident the US won’t apply much pressure, people familiar with the matter said.

Moscow has been one of India’s biggest weapons suppliers since the Cold War, with more than half of the country’s fighter jets and almost all of its tanks coming from Russia.

Russia also backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hardline policies in the disputed region of Kashmir, which were widely criticised.

Both factors are holding Modi back from publicly censuring Putin along with the US, Europe and other nations, said the people who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorised to speak to the media.

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India raised eyebrows over the weekend when it joined China and the United Arab Emirates in abstaining from voting on a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the invasion, which was ultimately vetoed by Russia.

On Wednesday, New Delhi again abstained on a UN General Assembly resolution denouncing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

India needs Moscow’s diplomatic support and weaponry to deal with neighbouring China, particularly after the two nations clashed along their Himalayan border. New Delhi and Beijing have been in conflict over the past two years, with both sides amassing troops, tanks and artillery guns.

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Modi’s government is also confident Washington will look the other way on this issue as India becomes a more important US partner in taking on China in the Asia-Pacific region, the people said. India is part of the so-called Quad group with the US, Japan and Australia that has sought to counter China’s influence.

India’s External Affairs Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday that New Delhi’s position on Russia was based on “certain very careful considerations” when it came to UN resolutions.

“We will consider all of them in their entirety and take decisions in our best interests,” he said.

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“It’s hard to imagine Washington moving away from its determination to expand defence and security ties with India over the past 20 years,” said Nilanthi Samaranayake, Director of the Strategy and Policy Analysis programme at CNA, a research organisation in Washington DC.

“India has a history of pursuing its own path in international affairs, despite external pressure.”

Putin visited India in December to shore up ties after Modi’s government bought US$5 billion in weapons, including Russia’s S-400 advanced missile defence system. While the US banned Nato ally Turkey from its advanced F-35 fighter jet programme over a similar purchase, so far Washington has avoided any punishment for India.

The Indian government is also in talks with the Reserve Bank of India to allow rupee-rouble trade to bypass sanctions against Moscow, Business Standard newspaper reported on Thursday, citing people it didn’t identify.

However, this wouldn’t be the first time such an arrangement has been worked out. Both sides have paid for everything from tea to weapons using this route in the past.

Indian policymakers have mostly focused their response to Russia’s invasion on evacuating at least 4,000 Indian students stranded in Ukraine, an issue with domestic political ramifications as voting takes place in five state elections.

Four federal ministers have been dispatched to countries sharing borders with Ukraine to help with getting Indian citizens out.

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New Delhi denied on Thursday Russian claims that Ukraine was holding Indian students hostage in Kharkiv, instead thanking the country for its help in evacuations from the embattled city.

“We note that with the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities, many students have left Kharkiv yesterday,” said foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi.

“We have not received any reports of any hostage situation regarding any student,” he added.

New Delhi’s declaration came after Moscow said Indian students in Kharkiv were being used as a “human shield” by Ukrainian security forces.

“These students have already been, in effect, taken hostage by the Ukrainian power agencies that are using them as a human shield and are doing everything to prevent their leaving for Russia,” the Kremlin said in a statement following a video call between Putin and Modi on Wednesday.

An Indian student, who fled the Ukraine conflict, hugs her mother after arriving at the airport in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: AP

“The Kyiv authorities are fully responsible for this,” it added, saying Putin told Modi that Moscow was trying to organise the evacuation of Indian students from Kharkiv via a humanitarian corridor.

A brief statement from Modi’s office after the call said only that “many Indian students are stuck” in the city, and that the two leaders discussed their evacuation.

Bagchi noted on Thursday: “A large number of Indian nationals have been evacuated from Ukraine in the last few days. We appreciate the help extended by the Ukrainian authorities to make this possible.”

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse