Germany’s Olaf Scholz seeks Indian support to isolate Russia over Ukraine war

India has refrained from any overt criticism of Russia as Moscow is a major supplier of arms, oil and India’s other economic needs

Scholz also supported a free trade agreement between the EU and India and that he ‘personally will make sure that this does not drag on’

3-MIN READ3-MIN

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prior to a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 9:55am, 25 Feb 2023Updated: 9:36pm, 25 Feb 2023

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday that Germany wants to get India to support, or at least not block, Western efforts to isolate Russia for waging a devastating war against Ukraine.

Following his talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Scholz stressed that developing countries were being negatively impacted by energy and food shortages resulting from the war and hopes that India will help secure critical supplies to Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Modi maintained his cautious approach and said India wanted the conflict to be ended through dialogue and diplomacy. “India is ready to make its contribution to any peace initiative,” he added.

He has refrained from any overt criticism of Russia as Moscow is a major supplier of arms, oil and India’s other economic needs.

Scholz said that Russia’s war against Ukraine “violated the fundamental principle to what we all agree of not changing borders through the use of violence”.

Scholz, who arrived in the Indian capital on Saturday, also discussed with Modi ways to boost bilateral economic cooperation.

He said he supported a free trade agreement between the European Union and India and he “personally will make sure that this does not drag on”.

Germany’s pivot to India is particularly stark, given that close economic ties to China, the main buyer of German machine tools, and Russia, its key energy supplier, have played in German prosperity over the past 15 years.