Soothe the frayed nerves in the west

Every country wishes to have strategic autonomy i.e., autonomously protect one’s interests while cooperating with others to the extent it can. India is not an exception. However, its contention is put to test, time and again, this time in the aftermath of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia.

Why is the west, especially the US, taking umbrage against India’s latest outreach to Russia? Modi’s visit to Russia seems to have caused much bad blood in the West. Particularly, his warm embrace of President Vladmir Putin on his arrival in Moscow has seen a wave of anger swept through the Western nations, including the US, so much so that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as dealing a devastating blow to peace efforts. Modi-Putin warm gesture happened when Russia had just bombed a children’s hospital in Kyiv, killing several little ones.

Even as the west, mainly US, views India’s ties with Russia with suspicion, the three-time PM used its first visit abroad to address the long-felt concerns of a close friend. In fact, in wake of increasing isolation by the west, Russia was, perhaps, worried India, at the behest of the US, might be delaying the annual bilateral summits, which stalled since 2021. Modi put such worries at rest. India had already stood by Russia when its oil was shunned by the West to cripple its economy. India’s bold act greatly helped avert a financial meltdown in Russia.

PM Modi’s visit raised the bar for trade and defence cooperation. Russia and India agreed to push bilateral trade to $100 billion from the current $65 billion and were said to have dwelt on military supplies. Modi’s visit thus serves well for the optics and soothes the frayed nerves in Moscow. Indo-Russian ties are historically deep in any sector worth mentioning, be it defence, energy, trade, space or nuclear cooperation and even cultural bonds. The PM assured Russia that it can count India as its close ally in times of both peace and strife.

Back to the present. The US Ambassador Eric Garcetti has not minced words about his country’s displeasure at India moving closer to Russia in the name of strategic autonomy. He stressed that India be a true and trusted friend to the West in times of crisis, too. He put it bluntly that India cannot take US relationship for granted. The US wants India to walk its talk and put pressure on Moscow to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Garcetti even compared Russian invasion of Ukraine to Chinese aggression along the LAC with India and said India cannot rely on the West support, without reciprocal actions in times of need. The US is sore that its ties with India aren’t as deep as India’s ties with Russia.

With this, India’s balancing act between the US and Russia is thus under strain, yet again. While re-assuring Russia is a strategic compulsion, India must, nevertheless, be seen to be deferring to the west’s wishes, too. Modi’s visit to Russia coinciding with a key NATO summit was a huge embarrassment for the US, particularly. Perhaps, aware of the west’s sensitivities, a day after the hug,

Modi publicly condemned the act of bombing a children’s hospital and pressed Putin to realise that a solution to the war cannot be found on the battlefield. India can only do as much i.e., merely render a wise counsel. It cannot afford to push Russia over to the Chinese side. The US, too, should appreciate India’s predicament and should not discount Russia’s pivotal role in India’s strategic calculations against China. It is only when Russia is neutral that India, with the West on its side, can fend off the Chinese.