India subtly sends message to Russia, joins US in seeking respect for Ukraine's sovereignty
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stuck to New Delhi’s policy of not condemning Moscow for its aggression against Ukraine, but joined President Joe Biden to subtly send a message to Russia by calling for respect for international law, principles of the United Nations Charter and territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations.
Modi reiterated his “this-is-not-an-era-of-war” refrain while addressing the US Senators and Representatives in Capitol Hill, adding that it was an era of dialogue and diplomacy. Aware that New Delhi’s reluctance to strongly condemn Moscow for its special military operations in Ukraine irked many in Washington DC, the prime minister reminded the US Congress that he had delivered his message against the war directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“As I have said directly and publicly, this is not an era of war. But, it is one of dialogue and diplomacy,” Modi said, albeit avoiding directly referring to his meeting with Putin at Samarkand in Uzbekistan in September 2022. “And,” he added, “we all must do what we can to stop the bloodshed and human suffering”.
He said that war had returned to Europe with the Ukraine conflict, which was causing great pain in the region. He referred to it as one of the “deeply disruptive events” of the last few years.
“Since it involves major powers, the outcomes are severe. The countries of the Global South have been particularly affected,” he said, adding: “The global order is based on the respect for the principles of the UN Charter, peaceful resolution of disputes, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Since the beginning of the “series of events” in Ukraine, India has been stressing the need to resolve the ‘dispute’ through dialogue and diplomacy, the prime minister said, as he and the US president addressed media persons after a meeting at the White House on Thursday. He, however, avoided directly referring to Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Biden, however, referred to “Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine” and said that he and Modi had discussed their shared efforts to mitigate the humanitarian tragedy unleashed by the conflict. Earlier, while welcoming the prime minister to the White House, the US president said that the two nations were working closely to deal with the “food and energy insecurity stoked by Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine”.
A joint statement issued after the meeting between the two leaders stated that Biden and Modi had expressed their “deep concern over the conflict in Ukraine” and mourned its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences.
“The leaders underscored the serious and growing impacts of the war on the global economic system, including on food, fuel and energy security, and critical supply chains. They called for greater efforts to mitigate the consequences of the war, especially in the developing world.”
Modi and Biden pledged to render continuing humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. They, according to the joint statement, called for respect for international law, principles of the UN charter, and territorial integrity and sovereignty. They also concurred on the importance of post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine.
Ever since Russia launched its “special military operations” in Ukraine on February 24 last year, India has been drawing flak for not joining the US and other western nations in condemning the former Soviet Union nation for its aggression against the East European country.
New Delhi has refrained from criticising Moscow, apparently in view of India’s deep Cold War era ties with Russia. India also took into account its decades-old dependence on Russia for defence equipment, including high-tech military hardware.
While New Delhi has been maintaining the strategic balance in its ties with Moscow and Washington D.C. over the past couple of decades, Modi’s meeting with Biden in the White House on Thursday is expected to add new momentum to the India-US ties, particularly in the fields of defence as well as critical and emerging technologies.