Unlike fellow members of the Quad alliance — Japan, Australia and the United States — India has abstained in three UN votes condemning Moscow’s actions
India on Saturday signalled a subtle change in its stand on Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in assessing “broader implications” of the conflict, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region — the scene of growing belligerence of China.
India has so far been dismissing any attempt to draw a parallel between Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and China’s belligerence in the Indo-Pacific region. It has also been rejecting the argument put forward by the United States that if Russia could get away with its aggression against Ukraine, it would encourage China to ratchet up its belligerence in the Indo-Pacific region. Modi on Saturday continued to avoid directly calling out Russian President Vladimir Putin for ordering military operations in Ukraine. Kishida, however, condemned Putin for aggression against the East European nation. The two prime ministers together called for “immediate cessation of violence” in Ukraine, noting that dialogue and diplomacy was the only path for resolution of the conflict.