Jaishankar Russia Visit: Over the last few months, India-Russia bonhomie has been the talk of the town on the global stage. For the initial few months, it never looked as if India would take a clear stand. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the pro-Ukraine lobby sniffed an opportunity. Things again seem to be going out of their way as EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar’s next stop is Moscow.
EAM Jaishankar in Russia
India’s most famous foreign minister Jaishankar is on a 2-day visit to Russia. According to reports available in the public domain, he will meet his counterparts, Sergey Lavrop and Denis Manturov. Denis is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry. With Sergey, Jaishankar will discuss bilateral as well as regional and international issues, while with Manturov, economic cooperation will be the focal point of discussion.
The visit could not have come at a more crucial juncture. You know, winter is coming. As a shivering cold is approaching Europe, their wildest dream is on the verge of coming true. European countries have started to feel the heat of standing with the American military-industrial complex.
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Excessive inflation, an energy crisis, the revival of medieval-era tool cutting exercises, and a radical shift in the ideological preferences of the common population are some of the common problems being faced by them.
Now, they knew that all of these problems would be there for the short term, but they did not have a contingency plan for it. Relying on America and hoping that the Biden administration would help them has always turned out to be futile. Biden himself was not able to control the tunnelling of support to the Putin administration. India took the lead in not giving explicit support to any block.
India has been at the center
More specifically, EAM Jaishankar led India’s charge on the global stage. His argument was simple. India needed energy security; Russia provided it while the USA did not. Naturally, it is wise to side with Russia to prevent inflation from hitting the 1.4 billion strong population.
Somehow, even Zelenskyy had no problem accepting it. On its part, India did try to calm things by urging Russia to aim for peace. This was interpreted by the liberal media as India going against Russia.
India’s not coming out in support of Russia on procedural votes added another fuel to the fire. And then EAM Jaishankar was in the USA for 11 days. Though he did not utter any anti-Russian words, the optics were not good.
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India has done its bit
A few weeks ago, India refused to support any kind of nuclear strike by Putin. All these developments cast a shadow of doubt over the India-Russia bond. But the latest numbers about trade turned sentiments around.
Russia is now India’s seventh-biggest trading partner. It is a sharp jump from the 25th position last year. Interestingly, these numbers were registered only for 5 months. As they say, there are miles to go.
The remaining warmth was added by India’s explicit support for the Russian resolution against Nazism at the United Nations General Assembly. Fighting Nazism in Ukraine is a key point of Putin’s offence in Russia. Supporting Russia on that point is strategically important. It also comes at a time when the G20 meeting is just days away.
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India to bring peace?
It will be the first time after the crisis that both the American and Russian presidents will be on the same stage. The meeting is expected to add some thaw to the skirmishes. India’s role is crucial since it is the only country in the good books of both Russia and Ukraine.
Though, it is also true that Zelenskyy is stern about regime change in Russia, and he has rejected PM Modi’s peace proposal for his ambition as well. Even the US is losing patience with the childish demands of the comedian turned president of Ukraine.
Clearly, there is an opportunity for peace. EAM Jaishankar has played his part by talking to Russians. If there is not peace in Ukraine, at least our bond with Russia is protected.
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