NEW DELHI: Russian ambassador Denis Alipov on Monday questioned the US’s reliability as a partner for India, both for defence supplies and on strategic issues such as the standoff with China, while emphasising the “trusted” relationship forged by Moscow and New Delhi because of similar approaches to global issues”
Alipov, who was speaking at an event marking the 30th anniversary of the Indo-Russian Friendship Treaty of 1993, accused the US of exploiting “contradictions” between India and China and of using a “divide and rule tactic”. He also acknowledged that India-Russia relations were “under stress” in the wake of the Ukraine conflict.
The event marked a rare public outing for Alipov, who took up his position early in 2022. India has refrained from publicly criticising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though Prime Minister Narendra Modi told President Vladimir Putin during a meeting last year that this was not the era of war.
Alipov said Russia does not “mix technology transfer with politics” in the context of defence cooperation with India. “Sometimes it’s amusing to read about the US boasting [about] its defence cooperation with India, as if it offers something exclusive. Nothing near the level of advanced technology transfers we do offer,” he said.
The licenced production in India of T-90 tanks, SU-30MKI combat jets and AK-203 assault rifles comply with self-reliance initiatives, and the delivery of the third battery of S-400 air defence systems “will be completed in the very near future”, he said.
India and Russia signed the $5.4-billion deal for five S-400 batteries in 2018, and all deliveries were to be completed in a five-year period.
In an apparent reference to remarks by senior US officials that close defence and strategic ties with India were not possible during the Cold War era, Alipov said India and Russia had “always been on the same page”, which contrasted with the US approach to India.
“Unlike them, we don’t need to explain to each other and to the world that close partnership between us was not possible in the past for some reason. One can easily assume that tomorrow it may again be impossible for another [reason], say if the US finds a new rapprochement with China or India manages to mend relations with Beijing. That from the US perspective will be a disaster,” he said.
The US, he said, actively exploits contradictions between India and China and promotes the “new paradigm of democracies vs autocracies”. Russia and India do not support the “old divide and rule tactic”, he added.
Responding to questions after his speech, Alipov sought to play down suggestions that the new “unlimited partnership” between Russia and China could impact his country’s relations with India. He said Russia will do the “utmost to facilitate” the normalisation of relations between India and China, which have been locked in a border standoff since May 2020.
“We hear a lot of discussions about India’s concerns about the close Russia-China relations at the current stage…There is this widespread opinion that we have become a junior partner to China…Frankly, we have never been a junior partner to anyone in our history…we have a very close cooperation with China…but will never be superseded [and become] a junior partner to China or anyone else,” he said.
Russia would like to see the normalisation of India-China relations as this will benefit global and Asian security. “We understand there are very serious impediments to that, a very serious border problem between the two countries…But the sooner there is a normalisation between the two countries, the better for the whole world. We will do the utmost to facilitate if our efforts are needed and are invited,” he said.
Asked if India could play any role in mediation to end the war in Ukraine, Alipov said: “We are open to any serious talks on ending it diplomatically. At the moment, there are none. If India wants to take a more active part in that, we will certainly listen to India very closely and we will examine all the proposals in a very serious manner.”
While acknowledging that Russia wants to expand its economic presence in Pakistan, Alipov said: “We have maintained consistently that we will never do anything detrimental to India in our relations with Pakistan.” He said Russia has a limited defence relationship with Pakistan that is directed towards counter-terrorism. “We don’t feel like a weak Pakistan would be a better choice for the region, for India or for Afghanistan,” he added.
