Greatest diplomatic crisis for India since Cold War: Fareed Zakaria on Russian invasion of Ukraine
India Today
Fareed Zakaria told India Today in an exclusive interview that India cannot continue to be "multi-aligned" in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russian invasion of Ukraine poses the greatest diplomatic crisis India has had to face since the Cold War, said veteran journalist and geopolitical expert Fareed Zakaria.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Zakaria said, "This is the greatest diplomatic crisis for India since the Cold War. India has to figure out what is going to be its strategic posture going ahead. India cannot continue to play the game of being multi-aligned."
Zakaria added that the question is whether India should reduce its dependence on Russia for military hardware.
READ: Russian invasion a David vs Goliath contest, Ukraine an emotional issue for Putin: Fareed Zakaria
He says, "Indians have a long legacy of dealing with Moscow and they want to preserve that relationship, but at the same time they want to have ties with the US. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took India a long way in that regard. If that process had continued, I have no doubt that the US would be willing to be India's defence partner.
"But the central strategic fact for India for the next 25-40 years is the rise of China. India has to figure out its national interests and its strategy.
Fareed Zakaria also said that due to its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Quad is being seen as a "three-legged stool" since all other members of Quad have come out in condemnation of Russia's military actions in Ukraine, except India.
