Worldview with Suhasini Haidar | Why won’t India budge on Russia?

In this episode of Worldview with Suhasini Haidar, we look at ten reasons why the Modi government hasn’t budged on ties with Moscow.

Amidst a diplomatic downpour in Delhi from Western countries urging sanctions against Russia, we look at 10 reasons why the Modi government hasn’t budged on ties with Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in Delhi at the very end of a deluge of envoys and ministers from countries pushing sanctions against Russia. In Delhi, he met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval and PM Narendra Modi.

The message from his visit was 3-fold:

1. That Russia has not been isolated for the war in Ukraine- Mr. Lavrov came to Delhi from Tunxi in China, where he had met with Foreign Ministers of 6 neighbouring countries on Afghanistan

2. Russia and India will seek alternative payment mechanisms to the SWIFT system, and Rupee-Rouble trade will be intensified. In effect that India and Russia will seek ways to bypass the sanctions put in place in the past month by US, EU and partner countries- more than 30 countries

3.Despite the war, there will be no disruptions in Russian supplies of military hardware supplies to India, and Russia is happy to supply India for more of its energy requirements. According to international agencies, India has, in the month or so since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, already bought the same amount that it bought in the whole of 2021.

Clearly, this is not an outcome that will please countries in the coalition against Russia at present: US, European Union and Asian partners like Japan, Australia and Singapore, who conducted their own diplomatic missions as well.