Editorial: Tightrope diplomacy

For India, the Ukraine war has been posing a diplomatic challenge as it needs to take a nuanced position to protect its national interests

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow, his first since the Ukraine war broke out in 2022, and the tone and tenor of his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted India’s tightrope diplomacy to strike a balance between protecting its national interests and taking a nuanced position over the emerging geopolitics of the region. On the one hand, Modi delivered a blunt message to Putin that a solution to any conflict cannot be found on the battlefield while on the other, he emphasised the robust and time-tested friendship with Russia and spoke about further deepening the bilateral economic and trade relations. The Prime Minister’s remark that peace talks do not succeed amid bombs, guns and bullets was meant to be a clear message to Putin to stop the war in Ukraine. Making it clear that it was on the side of peace, India offered to contribute to ending the conflict in Ukraine. A joint statement, issued after the bilateral talks, said the two sides highlighted the imperative of a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, including engagement between both parties. Modi’s sharp formulation this time goes beyond what he had told Putin at their previous bilateral meeting in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, about two years ago. He had then told the Russian strongman that “this is not the era of war” — a line that was later used in the G20’s Bali declaration that November, and by Western leaders to press Russia to end the war.

The Joint Statement on the development of strategic areas of Russia-India economic cooperation set a new bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2030. Last year, trade between the two countries grew by 66% and added another 20% in the first quarter of 2024. The two countries agreed to cooperate in key energy sectors, including nuclear energy, oil refining and petrochemicals and expanded forms of cooperation and partnership in the field of energy infrastructure, technologies and equipment. They also agreed to facilitate mutual and international energy security, taking into account the prospects of global energy transition. India’s relationship with Russia has weathered many a global storm and remained resilient. Defence is the strongest pillar of the strategic partnership by far, with nuclear and space cooperation also occupying an important place. The Soviet union was India’s main supplier of defence equipment during the decades of the Cold War, and even now, between 60% and 70% of India’s defence equipment is estimated to be of Russian origin. The defence cooperation has evolved from a buyer-seller framework to one involving joint R&D, co-development and joint production. For India, the Ukraine war has been posing a daunting diplomatic challenge as it needs to take a nuanced position to protect its national interests without succumbing to the pressures of the West.

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