India’s stand on the Ukraine conflict

Last week, India was among four countries that abstained on a draft resolution at the United Nations

Last week, India was among four countries that abstained on a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemning the “referenda” organised by Russia in four regions. Hours before Friday afternoon’s voting in New York, Russian President Vladimir Putin “annexed” four regions inside Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders - Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk.

The UNSC resolution that was sponsored by the United States and Albania, reports Sriram Lakshman from the UN, failed to pass the 15-member Council despite winning ten supporting votes, after Russia, unsurprisingly, used a veto. A similar resolution is likely to be introduced in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) – where Russia does not have a veto - in the near future. India decided to abstain on the resolution “keeping in view the totality of the evolving situation” , its Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, said. Other countries abstaining were China, Brazil and Gabon.

While India’s abstention wasn’t entirely unexpected given its past stand on the issue, it did seem to come as somewhat of a surprise to some Western commentators and diplomats, who had held out hope that India’s vote in this instance would have shifted from past “abstentions” to a “yes vote”. The reason for this was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand in mid-September on the “era of war” having ended, which were followed by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s speech at the UNGA where he spoke of India being “on the side of the UN charter”. These were, however, misplaced expectations, writes Suhasini Haidar, who explains why U.S. and European diplomats misread what India’s stand on the conflict is.

Indeed, shortly before the vote, the U.S. was quick to back India’s recent comments, which were highlighted by Secretary of State Antony Blinken who held talks last week with Jaishankar in Washington. The Ukraine issue also figured in Jaishankar’s talks with National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan, although the main focus of his engagements in Washington was the India-U.S. strategic relationship.

One of the issues raised by Jaishankar in Washington was U.S. assistance to Pakistan for F-16 aircraft. The Minister said he had raised the $450 million package in his talks.

In this week’s World View, which you can read or watch here, Suhasini Haidar breaks down the F-16 deal and how it has become a thorn in the side of India-U.S. relations.

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