Page 16 - The Indian EYE 031122

Op-ED MARCH 11, 2022 | The Indian Eye 16

cold calculations of national interest and india’s

difficult position on russia and ukraine

Views and opinions from the top commentators in Indian media

he war in Ukraine is getting
uglier. Civilian targets are get-
tting hit and civilian deaths will
likely mount. Vladimir Putin, denied
a quick victory, will almost certainly
not pull back now. He’s already, with
jaw-dropping recklessness, rattled the
nuclear sabre and his foreign minister
has warned of World War III with nu-
clear weapons. As the situation turns
graver, as human costs of the invasion
mount, countries previously staying
out of punitive actions against Russia
are now changing their position. Tra-
ditionally neutral Switzerland has fro-
zen Russian assets. Finland, another
country with non-aligned traditions,
is sending weapons to the Ukrainian
resistance. Turkey has limited access
to Russian warships to the Black Sea.
Russian energy-dependent Germa-
ny is already planning for scenarios
where Moscow weaponizes the sup-
ply of gas to Europe’s largest econo-
my. At the UN, criticism against Rus-
sia is growing.
So, the question comes, can In-
dia continue to hold on to its ‘abstain’
position indefinitely? All the argu-
ments made by those who advocate a
‘neutral’ position are by now familiar.
The question about that stand is can Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Moscow last Thursday (ANI Photo)
it or should it persist despite Russia’s
current actions and its increasing iso-
s the war in Ukraine gets tough-
lation, Putin’s dangerous gambles like handiwork and push back history. er, bloodier, and messier, and bing up and down. The first is about
alliances, based on both econom-
Trying to prevent a special ses-
putting nuclear weapons on alert, not
sion of the United Nations General aas American pressure increases
to mention an economy that can get Assembly to discuss the crisis is hard- on India to move away from Russia ic and security concerns. One of
the issues that provoked the war in
seriously hurt. ly the way to ensuring that Ukraine’s and become a part of the American Ukraine has to do with NATO. The
-- Editorial, The Times of India
ambassador there will jump up from camp, India’s neutrality becomes a second is about friendly regimes in
here is scarcely a country in his seat to embrace India’s represen- difficult one to hold. Choosing one the neighborhood. Russia perceives
Asia without a Donetsk or a tative as he did Singapore’s. It would of the two sides is not going to help the government of President Volody-
tLuhansk yearning to throw have been different if India had been either. It is possible for India to hold myr Zelenskyy to be anti-Russia and,
off the central authority and find its prepared to confront the United on to the position it has now taken, therefore, a threat to Russia. The
own niche in the sun. Nor is there States of America over NATO’s east- squeezing in a bit here, and wiggling third issue is that of nationalism, and
any dearth of precariously positioned ward march and the coup that top- out there. And it can tumble along the fourth is religion. The last two are
nations like Cuba, Venezuela, Nic- pled Ukraine’s democratically elected without making its position clear. But explicit ideological factors in Russian
aragua and Syria to curry favor with president but such candor isn’t India’s at the end of the day, India may have President Vladimir Putin’s stance
ruthless victors by following their lead. diplomatic style. to think out its stance, both in govern- over Ukraine. We in India have not
Aspirants for independence like the Meanwhile, the tragic death of ment and outside. It is not enough to talked about these things with suffi-
Georgian provinces of South Ossetia a 21-year-old medical student from blame America and NATO’s double cient honesty and clarity.
and Abkhazia, which have also rec- Karnataka and the uncertain fate of standards while paying lip service to
ognized Ukraine’s two breakaway re- other stranded young Indians warn Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial --Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr,
publics, probably hope that someone of bigger dangers ahead. No one is in- integrity. The Quint
will in turn reciprocate the favor. clined to listen to India’s pieties about There are serious issues of inter- Every week, we look at what the top
India needs to be careful in all ‘dialogue and diplomacy’. national politics underlying the war commentators in the Indian media are
this horse-trading and tightrope walk- -- Sunanda K. Datta-Ray, in Ukraine, raising several questions talking about and bring to you a slice
ing as Vladimir Putin invokes nuclear about international relations. There of their opinions and comments
power to undo Mikhail Gorbachev’s The Telegraph (India) are at least four issues that are bob-

www.TheIndianEYE.com