In an interesting ‘coincidence’, while the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as part of the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit takes place on Tuesday, the very same day, leaders of the 32 NATO countries will also meet in Washington DC.
Amid warming ties with the US, India is a member of the ‘Quad’ grouping but at the same time has not categorically condemned Russia’s invasion into Ukraine like the other countries that are friendly to the US. It has also imported Russian oil in substantial quantities in disregard of the US-led sanctions on Russia.
On July 9, PM Modi and President Putin will meet for “restricted-level” talks before the delegation-level meeting between the two sides begins. On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of the two countries had met on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
India and Russia have substantial military cooperation. Some key projects include the supply of S-400 air defence system, licensed production of T90 tanks and Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft, supply of MiG-29 and Kamov helicopters, INS Vikramaditya (formerly Admiral Gorshkov), production of Ak-203 rifles in India and the BrahMos missiles.
Responding to a query by THE WEEK on whether there is a messaging that could be articulated, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra in a special briefing, said: “With regard to the scheduling of the Prime Minister’s visit to Russia. ... We look at our relationship with Russia purely from a framework of bilateral relationship ... annual summit between the two countries have not been held since 2021, and it was scheduled to be held at this time. I think this is all there is to it. I would not read anything more to it in terms of significance except to say that we attach great importance to this annual summit.”
Responding to whether the Ukraine conflict would be part of the discussion, Kwatra said “issues of global concern usually figure in the discussions between the two leaders.”
Elaborating the Indian position, Kwatra said: “We have always maintained a very clear and consistent position and approach that enduring peace can only be achieved through dialogue and diplomacy and we continue to believe that such a peace requires bringing together all stakeholders in a sincere and a practical engagement between the two parties of the conflict.”
On the other side of the Atlantic, on Tuesday, the NATO meet themed ‘Ukraine and transatlantic security’ will focus on NATO's response to the growing threats “to peace and democracies” in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The NATO talks will also include the European Union and Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Ukraine which well be represented by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.