Trading on Moral Imperatives

"India is a great power, not a British colony. And everyone will have to accept that."

"[Russia plans to cooperate with India in] the most important areas: cutting-edge technology, space exploration and nuclear energy."

"[Heavy sanctions on the Russian economy caused] certain difficulties [but there are solutions and those countries that hinder third-country trade will] ultimately suffer losses themselves."

"The United States itself still buys nuclear fuel from us for its own nuclear power plants. If the US has the right to buy our fuel, why shouldn't India have the same privilege?"

Russian President Vladimir Putin 

 

"[India is not neutral on the war in Ukraine and stands on] the side of peace [welcoming efforts to find a] lasting [solution to end the war]."

"[Increasing India's] connectivity between Russia and India remains a] major priority [for India]."

"Energy security has been a strong and important pillar of the India-Russia partnership."

"The India-Russia friendship has remained steady like a guiding star." 

"We have agreed on an economic cooperation program for the period up to 2030. This will make our trade and investment more diversified, balanced and sustainable."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready to provide "uninterrupted shipments" of fuel to India, as Delhi faces pressure from the US to stop buying Russian oil.   BBC

 

"[Indian energy companies decide on purchases based on] evolving market dynamics [and] commercial issues."

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri 

 

"Protecting the India-America relationship from the Trump problem is very important."

"The U.S. is a much bigger market for India than Russia can ever dream of becoming [despite longstanding India-Russia ties]." 

"We have to ensure that we do nothing with Russia that will give Trump another excuse to put blame on India."

"That has to be at the back of our mind." 

Dilip Sinha, retired Indian diplomat and commentator 

It is hugely unlikely that either Foreign Secretary Misri or retired Indian diplomat Mr. Sinha have all that much to be concerned with in relation to Mr. Putin's visit to India to discuss trade ties with Prime Minister Modi bothering the Trump White House. President Trump has made it obvious that he has a soft spot for Vladimir Putin that fits well with his predilection for finding favour with 'strongmen' whether they're from Russia, Turkey, Syria or Saudi Arabia. The ongoing war in Ukraine with the  agony of hanging on while the beleaguered nation is slowly suffocating under the weight of Moscow's larger army and military equipment is an inconvenience to President Donald Trump in President Zelenskyy's refusal to wave a white flag.

 

The prevailing issue seems more one of inconvenient events swamping a relationship sullied by the fact that one of the principals is a territorially grasping dictator deliberately oblivious to his revanchist passions' cost in human lives to achieve his goals of re-assembling the former Soviet Union's stranglehold on its neighbours. India itself has one such neighbour which has its own territorial ambitions grasping Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, challenging India, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea for territories it contests as its own.

 

Yet, in the interests of solidarity with the oppressed by the savagely territory-acquisitioning bullies of the world, India, the world's most populist country, energy-hungry in the bargain, dances with the devil with whom his country has had long remunerative relations in an attempt to balance its relations both with the United States and Russia from which its energy needs can be satiated for an economy growing in leaps and bounds. 

 

Narendra Modi, himself receiving Mr. Putin at a New Delhi airport, expressed his emotions with a bear hug, later hosting President Putin at a private dinner at his official residence. This is the occasion of the 23rd India-Russia Summit meant to discuss deep economic cooperation relating to defence, energy and skilled labour mobility. And Prime Minister Modi faced up to the unenviable diplomacy required to balance his nation's relationship with both Moscow and Washington which under the Trump administration is far less tricky than onlookers might suppose.  

 

The European Union, on the other hand, might very well take justifiable umbrage with New Delhi where trade talks there too could be a feature for consideration. It is Europe, after all, that quails at the prospect of Ukraine's complete defeat, knowing that the Kremlin might very well continue its depredation of Eastern European states. The hostile atmosphere in Europe toward Moscow in the face of Russia's bold assertions of power exacerbated by the airspace incursion of drones attributed to the Russian military and Mr. Putin poking at their defences tell the story of the attitude Europe can take to Mr. Modi's accommodation with Russia.

 

Putin, right, walks past guards of honour during a ceremonial reception prior to his meetings with Indian officials in New Delhi on Friday. (Konstantin Zavrazhin/Sputnik/Reuters)