In abstaining once again on a major United Nations resolution on Ukraine, India has not surprised observers at home but has disappointed some of its friends abroad. But the issue at hand in the latest United Nations Security Council resolution — Russia’s brazen violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity — has seen Delhi underline its “deep discomfort” with Moscow’s action. India has been signalling its growing unease with Russia’s Ukraine policy in the last few weeks. At a regional summit meeting in Samarkand last month Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told the Russian leader Vladimir Putin that this was not an “era of war”. The PM’s peace message has been amplified by the external affairs minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, during his engagements at the UN and in Washington DC during the last few days. India was not alone in conveying its anxieties with Russian drift in Ukraine. President Xi Jinping too had expressed Chinese concerns over Russia’s Ukraine policy in his meeting with Putin in Samarkand.
Putin had promised the two leaders — and major partners of Russia — that Moscow would address their concerns but was in no mood to change course on Ukraine. He embarked on a significant escalation of the conflict by ordering a general mobilisation to reverse the Russian military setbacks in Ukraine, renewing the threat to use nuclear weapons, and annexing the occupied territories that he is not even fully in control of. The rest of the world has reacted with outrage. The resolution denouncing Russia’s violation of the UN Charter got 10 votes in support; Russia opposed the resolution; and India along with China, Brazil, and Gabon abstained. Even as it abstained, Delhi sought to signal that Russian actions are becoming a political embarrassment for India. While its long-standing reliance on Russia for its defence needs stops India from denouncing Russian actions, it can no longer turn a blind eye to the impact of Russian actions on its own strategic interests and political values.
Meanwhile, as Russia plunges into a prolonged confrontation with the West over Ukraine, India’s growing partnership with the US and European states is coming under stress. That Delhi is acutely conscious of this danger is reflected in its active efforts to deepen multilateral cooperation with its Western partners. Last week, Delhi worked with the West to fend off the Chinese effort at the International Atomic Energy Agency to castigate Australia’s acquisition of nuclear powered submarines from the Anglo-American powers. Beyond the challenge of navigating the tense dynamic among the great powers, Delhi must come to terms with the essential question in Ukraine — changing borders through use of force. As a nation brimming with diversity and confronting territorial expansionism on its frontiers, India can’t accept the idea that a major power attacks its neighbour, seizes territory and annexes the occupied regions. Like the rest of the developing world, Delhi is acutely sensitive to concerns of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Delhi can’t continue to let Moscow put India at odds with its natural constituency in the Global South that rejects Russian invasion of Ukraine and supports Kyiv’s sovereignty.
