India is under pressure from the US and Western countries to take a tougher stance on Russia, a country with which it has long had close ties.
Senior diplomats from the US, Russia and Europe traveled to India this week for separate meetings with officials in New Delhi and underscored efforts by Moscow and Washington to win India’s side in the international struggle over Russia’s invasion and bombing of Ukraine .
Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economics Daleep Singh, a key architect of the Biden administration’s sanctions against Russia, traveled this week to meet Indian government officials.
There he criticized New Delhi’s imports of Russian oil and its reliance on military hardware from Moscow.
In a briefing with reporters on Thursday, Singh said the US does not want a “quick acceleration” of Russian energy imports to India, something that could help Moscow at a time when the US and countries in Europe are either banning or seeking to lower such imports .
“The conversation I’ve had here is that we stand ready to help India diversify its energy resources, similar to what has been done with defense resources over a period of time,” Singh said at the briefing, according to the Hindustan Times.
The Biden administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are increasingly frustrated that India is on the sidelines in the pressure campaign against Moscow.
India has abstained from all United Nations votes condemning Russia and has taken no steps to impose sanctions on Russia the Kremlin.
Despite the fact that relations between the United States and India have improved in recent years, including during the Trump administration, experts on the matter said that India is likely to want to maintain its partnership with Russia – which dates back to the Cold War .
“There’s a lot of momentum in the US-India relationship and I think Russia is now unfortunately bringing up one of the really sore spots in the relationship that India wants to keep it going at all costs,” said Derek Grossman, senior defense analyst at RAND Corporation.
Donald Lu, the top State Department official who focuses on US-India relations, told lawmakers earlier this month that officials have been engaged in a “bitter struggle” to persuade New Delhi to be more outspoken about Russia and weigh whether to impose congressional sanctions on New Delhi’s previous purchase of a Russian missile defense system, the S-400.
Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), the senior member with oversight of US foreign relations in South Asia, told The Hill in a statement he opposes sanctions on India but urged New Delhi to back away from Moscow separate.
“India remains a key partner in the Quad Security Dialogue as it works with the US to fight China in Asia and around the world,” Young said. “I hope this will be the moment when India recognizes the responsibility that its longstanding defense relationship with Russia poses to its future security.”
Grossman also expressed doubts that the government would impose sanctions on India.
“A democracy sanctioning another democracy doesn’t look very good,” he said.
India believes it is in a strong position to uphold its nonaligned policy, said Donald Camp, who served for nearly two decades as a senior field official in East and South Asia and focused on US and Indian politics at the Center for Strategic and India India’s Focused International Studies.
“My impression is that India is not averse to standing alone if necessary,” he said.
“India is a very proud nation and aware of its independence and has always talked about it – they use the term ‘strategic autonomy’. In other words, they will not be talked out of a position they believe is in their national interest.”
Former Indian Foreign Minister and ex-Ambassador to China and the US Nirupama Rao tweeted on Saturday that “our relations with the West are very important to us, but pressure, which we see as unreasonable, cannot work.”
But India’s position on Russia has diplomatically become a much bigger gamble in the face of Russian aggression.
“As this conflict continues to escalate and sanctions tighten, it will become increasingly difficult for India to walk that fine line,” Dhume said.
Of course, the US is not the only country trying to pressure India.
Singh’s trip coincided with a visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Also passing through New Delhi this week was British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and a senior security and foreign policy adviser to German Chancellor Jens Plötner.
The Native American tribe reacquires hundreds of acres in Virginia Democrats that broke up in response to the end of Title 42
Lavrov, who arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a two-day summit with Indian officials, is tasked with securing Russian oil imports into India, which dodge international sanctions by trading rubles and rupees.
The importance of the relationship is crucial for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who insists on the Russians not becoming isolated.
“It makes it much easier for Putin to argue that the invasion of Ukraine he launched did not result in international isolation,” Dhume said.
The Hill has removed its comments section as there are many other forums for readers to join the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.