India’s Balancing Act on Russia Is Getting Trickier
Russia is turning out to be a less attractive partner, and the US a less forgiving ally, than Indian leaders may have anticipated.
Having second thoughts?
Photographer: Alexandr Demyanchuk/AFP/Getty Images
India’s official position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine is notoriously hard to pin down. Within the last fortnight alone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly reproved Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling him that “this is not the era for war.”
But then India, as a member of the UN Security Council, abstained on a vote condemning Moscow’s “annexation” of Ukrainian territory. To add insult to injury, Modi also told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy there was “no military solution” to the conflict — just as the Ukrainian army was blitzing across parts of northeastern and southern Ukraine.