India and Russia will have to navigate a complex geopolitical landscape while deepening ties
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a short summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, highlighted the “all-weather” partnership between the two countries despite trying global conditions. Not only does the President’s visit come as the world faces the dire prospect of an Omicron version covid-19 pandemic, but it also follows years of growing closeness between New Delhi and Washington, a potential bottleneck for Moscow. Also, the China factor continues to drag the India-Russia bilateral tango in all the wrong directions. While Russia relies on cordial relations with China to stabilize its interests in a volatile Afghanistan following the US exit, New Delhi and Beijing have rarely turned a blind eye to border tensions and geopolitical rivalry in the Asia region. Have taken Despite these reasons for potential strategic dissonance, India and Russia reaffirmed the strength of their enduring deep, multi-decade relationship, instilling greater trust in each other through genuine defense agreements. Moscow has agreed to a 10-year military-technical plan that includes technology transfer to India. And the trade got a boost through an agreement to produce more than 600,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles for India. On the Indian side, despite resistance from Washington through its Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, New Delhi will proceed to purchase the S-400 missile defense system from Moscow.
facing challenges Mr Modi and Mr Putin Bilateral exchanges are multifaceted in terms of maintaining this momentum. First, and most imminently, the pandemic has periodically crippled the growth of both economies and remains a threat to public health, despite considerable progress with vaccination. Second, Russia-US relations are showing signs of deteriorating once again, this time with US President Joe Biden intent, reportedly, to warn Mr Putin that if Russia wants to annex Ukraine, He will face “anti-economy sanctions”, a fear that has escalated in the US as Russian troops crowd near the Ukraine border. India has so far stuck to its mantra of ‘strategic autonomy’ in a multipolar world, but the South Block will have to work hard to find a truce between Moscow and Washington. Third, India and China have made an uneasy ceasefire across their Himalayan border after the Galwan Valley exchange in 2020, yet there are several potential flashpoints that could send relations back into a spiral, including China in the South China Sea. historically provocative actions of And its far less insecurity about India joining the Quad for Indo-Pacific security. Moscow has managed to remain friends with both its big-ticket neighbours, but it will need a stronger focus on confidence-building cooperative initiatives if India and Russia are to navigate the complex geopolitical landscape safely. .
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