In what comes as a major vindication of India’s move to abrogate Article 370 which granted special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir, Russia has backed India over the said move stating that the move was carried out “within the framework of Constitution”. Russia has, therefore, become the first among the five permanent member nations of the UN Security Council to officially endorse India’s move of abrogation of Article 370. It has unambiguously stated that the abrogation of the constitutional provision is an internal matter for India.
Replying to questions from the media, the Russian foreign ministry also called for resolving all Indo-Pak differences based on the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration. It must be noted that these two instruments rule out third party mediation and call for bilateral resolution of disputes between India and Pakistan. Notwithstanding these instruments, Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue. However, Pakistan seems to have been snubbed once again with Russia referring to the aforementioned agreement and declaration.
The Russian foreign ministry has also stated, “Moscow expects that India and Pakistan will not allow aggravation of the situation in the region due to the change by Delhi in the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.” The statement added, “We proceed from the fact that the changes associated with the change in the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and its division into two union territories are carried out within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of India. We hope that the parties involved will not allow a new aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of the decisions.”
Russian foreign ministry’s statement comes as a big boost for India since it clearly negates Pakistani accusations of foul play in India’s latest move on Kashmir.
It must be noted that this is not the first time that Pakistan faced disappointment over this issue. A few days ago, UN chief Antonio Guterres, recalled the Simla Agreement of 1972 which rules out third party mediation between India and Pakistan merely a day after Pakistan’s envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met Guterres’ Chef de Cabinet Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti and also asked the UN Secretary-General to “play his due role” after India’s move of abrogating Article 370.
Pakistan has therefore invested a diplomatic capital in trying to grab global attention after India abrogated Article 370. However, Pakistan has not been able to derive any diplomatic leverage out of the current situation. Pakistan government’s opposition of Article 370 abrogation which stems out of jingoism and unrealistic domestic expectations has gone down as a monumental diplomatic failure.