Is the US behind India’s ‘anti-China games’? Russia thinks so
- Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s warning that New Delhi is being manipulated by the West in its relations with China sparks resistance
- Moscow is worried that closer New Delhi-Washington ties could affect purchases of Russian weaponry, experts say
His remarks last week not only prompted an official response from the Indian foreign ministry, but also sparked commentaries from irked observers who took umbrage at the suggestion that New Delhi had no strategic calculations of its own.
Lavrov said India had become “an object of the Western countries’ persistent, aggressive and devious policy as they are trying to engage it in anti-China games” such as the US-led Indo-Pacific Strategy and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
“At the same time the West is attempting to undermine our close partnership and privileged relations with India,” he said in a speech at the Moscow-based Russian International Affairs Council think tank. “This is the goal of the US’ very tough pressure on New Delhi.”
In response, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Anurag Srivastava told the media at a weekly briefing on Friday that “India has always pursued an independent foreign policy based on its national interest” and that its “relationship with each country is independent of its relations with third countries”. India did not see the Indo-Pacific strategy as directed at any particular country, he added.