Every “friendship” has certain limits that “friends” should not try to cross. Take the case of Russia and India. India has been receiving a lot of flak from the West for refusing to endorse the sanctions on Russia and for abstaining from voting on the anti-Russia resolutions pushed by the western countries in the UNSC and the UNGA. India has been steadfast in maintaining its neutrality, in spite of being under tremendous pressure to change its stand. But it seems Russia, goaded by China, is not averse to hurting India’s interests, as it became apparent during the G20 countries’ finance ministers’ meeting in Bengaluru last week. As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made it clear at the end of the meeting, the joint communique of the ministers did not materialise because of Russia’s and China’s refusal to get two paragraphs on the Ukraine war included in the statement. Media reports quoted Ajay Seth, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs as saying, “All other 18 countries felt the war has got implications for the global economy. So, this is the right place to have those paragraphs.” Eighteen countries mean India too wanted those paragraphs included in the statement, but it was not to be. However Russia might want to justify the invasion of Ukraine—expansion of NATO, ill treatment of the people of the Donbas region by the Ukrainians—there is no denying that Russia is the aggressor in this case. It was Russia which violated the rules based order, it was Russia which sent troops into Ukraine, leading to all-round death and disaster. This Putin-initiated conflict has resulted in a complete disruption of supply chains, leading to scarcities and inflation the world over. So for Russia and China to argue that no mention of the war should be made in the G20 document, is unacceptable. Let’s also not forget the precedence. The Ukraine war found several mentions in the “outcome document” at the end of the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022. In spite of the severe differences between the “warring parties”, India and host Indonesia were able to produce an outcome document which both sides signed. But this time in India, Russia and China had a problem with the same two paragraphs from the Bali document. So which country is impacted by this? India, which is the president of the G20 this year and is organising these meetings. Will it be wrong to look for a Chinese hand in this attempt to derail India’s presidency, to ensure that the major meetings leading up to the G20 Summit in September fail to come to any consensus on the big issues? But why is Russia joining hands with China in this? Isn’t India doing enough already for Russia, trying to keep it happy? The truth is, but for India’s dependence on defence equipment from Russia, it’s more than likely that New Delhi’s condemnation of the war would have been strident and not a mild rebuke about such aggression being in violation of the UN Charter. India is facing the world’s opprobrium for buying Russian oil, although it is only one of the long line of countries buying fuel from Russia. India has been accused of funding Russia’s war efforts, when in reality it is China that is doing so. In such circumstances, shouldn’t Russia have kept “friend” India’s interests on mind and made the concessions it has already made in Bali?
The sad truth is, Russia under Vladimir Putin has turned into a client state of China. In fact, this aspect needs to be factored in by India, for in case of the eruption of any sort of conflict between India and China, Russia will turn “neutral”, which may even affect the supply of spare parts for the Indian military’s Russian-made equipment. As for India’s G20 presidency, Russia should not turn into a pawn in the hands of China and spoil the stage for India. China wants India to fail and fail spectacularly. Already many forces have joined hands to try and ensure that the lead-up to the G20 Summit in September is strife-torn. Just as India’s relationship with Russia is independent of its relationship with the United States, Russia’s relationship with India too should be independent of its dependence on China. Russia calls itself India’s friend. It should respect the limits of that friendship.
