James Crabtree
Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Russia was greeted with predictable disappointment in European capitals. The trip marked the Indian prime minister’s first international foray following his re-election in June, and his first to Moscow in nearly a decade. The sight of Modi in a bear hug with Vladimir Putin rekindled old worries about India’s enduring Russian ties and the sincerity of more recent pledges to build new partnerships in the West. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was especially blunt, describing Modi’s choice of destination as “a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts.”
European and north American leaders should not draw the wrong conclusions about India’s long-term trajectory, however. Modi’s move is a reminder of his unwillingness to abandon Russia. But he is also trying to strike a delicate balance of managing India’s historic links with Moscow while not obviously deepening them. In fact, embracing the world’s advanced industrial democracies is now a greater Indian strategic priority – and one that presents geopolitical opportunities for Europe.
Moscow ended up on Modi’s itinerary for three broad reasons. Political priorities were one, providing a high-profile and domestically popular international platform following a relatively disappointing election result for Modi. Second were more regular and practical issues relating to the energy and weapons that Russia supplies to India. Finally, and most importantly, were ever-growing worries about China, which Indian security leaders now view as the country’s primary security threat.
No comments:
Post a Comment