India has been consistently abstaining from UN voting against Russia. However, it called for an immediate ceasefire and end of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine through dialogue. Indeed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and sought talks between the nations to resolve the ongoing military confrontation.
Nevertheless, there is a growing unease among America and its allies over India’s stand on the Russia-Ukraine Standoff. And it has come under criticism from the West. The recent one is from the American Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
Talking to reporters in Washington on Wednesday, she has said, “Now is the time to stand on the right side of history, and to stand with the United States and dozens of other countries, standing up for freedom, democracy, and sovereignty with the Ukrainian people, and not funding and fueling and aiding President Putin’s war.”
Speaking about India’s bilateral trade arrangements with Russia amidst severe West-backed sanctions, she opined the reports of the arrangement “deeply disappointing.” However, adding that she hadn’t seen the details.
Australia’s trade minister, Dan Tehan, who also spoke at the briefing, made a subtle remark stating that democracies must stick to the rule-based approach, which has been there since the second world war.
Meanwhile, Daleep Singh, American Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics, who arrived in India on Thursday, had a warning for India. He said, “There are consequences to countries that actively attempt to circumvent or backfill the sanctions.,” referring to the Ruppe-Rouble payment mechanism India and Russia are working on to bypass sanctions from America and its allies.
A week back, Joe Biden and his administration took a direct jibe at India for not voting against Russia in the UN resolutions that the US and its allies brought to the global forum. While lauding his European allies, American President Biden called India somewhat shaky on the issue. His administration termed India’s repeated abstention from UN votings against Russia as ‘unsatisfactory though it is not unsurprising.’
However, it didn’t go down well with many Indians. Some Indian media took this as the opportunity to write on the West’s hypocrisy and selective global uproar. A particular news outlet remarked, “The amoral US questions India’s moral standing.”
India has its moral standing in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Time and again, it has been asking for a ceasefire between the nations and an end to the conflict through dialogue. However, the West, which is pumping weapons into the war zone, needs lessons on peace and justice.