India’s Neutral Stance In Russia-Ukraine War

While India has consistently kept a neutral stand on the whole Russia-Ukraine crisis, the continued conflict could adversely affect New Delhi at several levels, including defence trade, politics, atomic energy etc. Earlier last week, India decided to abstain from voting at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against Russia’s invasion, winning an appreciation from the country for being ‘brave’ for an ‘independent and balanced’ position. However, some US lawmakers seemed disappointed with New Delhi’s ‘note of neutrality’ and alleged that the country tried to balance its strategic relationship with Russia. “Disappointing: India has avoided publicly denouncing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, as New Delhi tries to balance a strategic relationship with Moscow and its role in an emerging coalition of democracies,” Top Republican Senator John Cornyn tweeted. By seeing the western news channels it’s concluded that they’re not Happy of India’s neutral stance regarding Russian invasion.

Weapons For Army

India is hugely hooked in to Moscow for the availability of arms, especially the delivery of the Russian developed S-400 air defence missile system. The S-400 is Russia’s most advanced long-range SAM defense system . It’s a classy surface-to-air defence system that’s expected to offer India strategic deterrence against rivals China and Pakistan. Earlier last year, PM Modi and President Putin met to debate defense and trade relations, and signed an agreement to increase their military technology cooperation for subsequent decade.

The missile system affect Moscow has put India in danger of U.S. sanctions after Washington asked its partners to remain faraway from Russian military equipment. “The problem for India has just begun. The urgent need for it’s to interrupt out of dependence on the Russian weapons,” C. Raja Mohan, a senior fellow with the Asia Society Policy Institute said. Noor Ahmed Baba, a social scientist , said that Western countries are going to be unhappy with India, but they probably can’t afford to thoroughly alienate New Delhi . “After all, countries balance principles with real politicking and diplomacy,” he said. “It’s not only India’s advantage to be with the West, but they also need India.”

Dependency on Russian Oil, Coal, And Gas

Russia significantly drives the worldwide oil market and India is completely hooked in to Russian oil and gas. Reports said that India imports nearly 85 per cent of its oil requirements from Russia. Both countries have set a target of $30 billion in bilateral trade by the top of 2025. Data from Iman Resources showed that India imported 1.8 million tonnes of thermal coal and 43,400 BPD oil from Russia in 2021. India accounts for 0.2 per cent Russia’s gas exports. As per the reports, State-run Gas Authority of India Limited has signed a 20-year pact with Gazprom, Russia’s oil and gas service for two .5 million tones of liquefied gas a year.

Unlike US lawmakers, experts believed that India’s decision to abstain from voting on a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that Russia cease its invasion of Ukraine doesn’t mean support for Moscow, but reflects New Delhi’s reliance on its conflict ally for energy, weapons and support in conflicts with neighbors.

India-China Border Issue

The war in Ukraine not only added to challenges faced by New Delhi in Kashmir but also along its restive mountain frontier with China. Both Pakistan and China are seen to get on the Russian side, and India believes Moscow has the leverage to vary Beijing’s hard stance on the border issue. A confrontation in June 2020 along the disputed China-India border dramatically altered their already fraught relationship because the rival troops fought with rocks, clubs and fists. a minimum of 20 Indian troops and 4 Chinese soldiers were killed. Tensions have since persisted despite talks.

Strong India Russia Defence Ties

India was dependent, exclusively on British , and other Western countries for its arms imports following Independence. Yet, this reliance weaned, and by the 1970s India was bringing during a few weapons frameworks from the USSR, making it country’s biggest safeguard shipper for quite while when it came to both essential and sophisticated weapons frameworks. As a matter of fact, it’s given absolutely the most touchy and significant weapons stages that India has expected now and again including atomic submarines, plane carrying warships, tanks, firearms, contender planes, and rockets. The tradition of buying weapons from Russia has made India fairly subject thereto , and despite the very fact that India has attempted to increase the inspiration of countries from which it purchases new military frameworks, Russian-beginning weapons even have the most important part. As indicated by one gauge, the portion of Russian-beginning weapons and stages across Indian military is all around as high as 85%.

Western Hypocrisy

Within days of the Russian invasion, Western countries invoked law of nations , imposed crippling sanctions, began welcoming refugees with open arms and cheered on Ukraine’s armed resistance. The U.S.- drove battle in Iraq, which started 19 years prior this month, was generally viewed as an unlawful attack of 1 state by another. However, Iraqis who battled the Americans were marked fear based oppressors, and displaced people escaping toward the West were regularly dismissed, treated as potential security dangers. consistent with Biden Putin is wrongdoer but what about killing 1,000,000 people within the name terrorism.

Israel’s control of terrains the Palestinians need for a future state may be a ways into its 6th ten years, and an outsized number of Palestinians live under military rule seemingly forever. The U.S., Israel and Germany have passed regulation pointed toward stifling the Palestinian-drove blacklist development, while significant firms like Mcdonald’s, Exxon Mobil and Apple have won acclaim by suspending business in Russia.