New Delhi: If India makes friendship with someone, then it maintains it till the end. As beautiful as India’s friendship is, its enmity is equally dangerous. Russia is surrounded by crises due to the Ukraine war. Western countries including America are keeping a watch on it. Western powers have started isolating Russia in the Ukraine war. But Russia’s evergreen friend stands with it even in its difficult times. Its name is India. Yes, when Western countries showered sanctions on Russia in the Ukraine war, India remained friendly even then. When preparations were being made to rein in Russia on international forums, even then India supported Russia. Now when most countries are avoiding Putin after the Ukraine-Russia war, India has once again shown that friend, we are with you. Yes, Narendra Modi, who is becoming Prime Minister for the third time, is going to Moscow to meet his friend Putin. PM Modi also had to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan. But he said no to Jinping. Now he will go 2800 kilometers away and meet Putin alone. It is very interesting to know why PM Modi has taken such a decision now.
Actually, PM Modi is going to visit Russia next month. PM Modi is going to Moscow for the India-Russia Annual Summit. However, the dates have not been announced yet. According to media reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the second week of July and will also hold annual India-Russia summit talks. It is worth noting here that PM Modi is going to Moscow to meet Putin for the first time after the Russia-Ukraine war. This visit of PM Modi is taking place at a time when Russia and Ukraine have been burning in the fire of war for the last two and a half years. India has advocated peace on the Russia-Ukraine war from the very beginning. India has said that peace can be restored and war can end only through dialogue. This is the reason why India recently participated in the Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland. However, India questioned Russia’s absence in this summit and refused to sign the document related to Ukraine peace. India has been advocating peace in the Russia-Ukraine war. But India never said anything bad about its friend Russia. However, Modi definitely taught his friend Putin a lesson in peace and asked him to resolve the issue peacefully.
Modi will go to Moscow to meet Putin
For Modi, the friendship between Putin and Russia is of great importance. If PM Modi wanted, he could have met Putin in the SCO summit to be held in Kazakhstan next month. But PM has some bigger plan in mind. He will go to Russia and meet Putin, so that a message goes to the world that India does not make its friendship or enmity under pressure from anyone. Modi has another motive behind going to Russia and meeting Putin. In the last few days, Putin and Jinping have become closer. In such a situation, PM Modi wants to tell Jinping that the friendship between India and Russia is unbreakable. There is no place for China in between this friendship. Since the Ukraine war, China has been constantly trying to woo Russia. This is the reason why Putin went on a tour of China after becoming the President for the fifth time. Modi is trying to cut the string of that kite. The meeting between Modi and Putin will definitely upset China. The reason is that Modi will not meet Jinping, but will meet Putin in Moscow, about 2800 kilometers away from Kazakhstan.
Modi will not attend the SCO summit
Actually, the meeting of SCO i.e. Shanghai Cooperative Organization is going to be held in Kazakhstan in the first week of July. Earlier it was reported that PM Modi would attend this summit. But now it is being claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not participate in the SCO summit to be held in Astana on 3-4 July. The reason for this is being told to be China and Pakistan. Xi Jinping and Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif will attend this summit. PM Modi is keeping distance from this summit due to the dispute with China and the issue of terrorism with Pakistan. If PM Modi wanted, he could have met Putin in Astana itself. But he thought it right to take out separate time for his friend. Anyway, Russia was calling PM Modi for a long time. One reason for not attending the SCO summit is also being told to be the Parliament session. Modi has become PM for the third consecutive time. In such a situation, the Parliament session is more important for him.
Friendship between India and Russia and tension of China
When Russia was hit by sanctions during the Ukraine war, India supported it without fearing anyone. When no one was ready to buy oil, India bought oil from it. This helped Russia fight the Ukraine war. Russia has been India’s largest defense equipment supplier. However, in recent years, India has made defense deals worth billions of dollars with European countries including the US in an effort to increase and diversify its capabilities. Bilateral trade between India and Russia is growing. It has seen a significant jump since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, reaching a record high. Trade between India and Russia has reached close to $50 billion. This has been possible because Russian oil and fertilizers were supplied to India at concessional rates. Now that PM Modi and Putin are going to meet once again, China’s tension is bound to increase. PM Modi wants to give a strategic signal to China by not going to the SCO Summit himself.
Tags: India russia, PM Modi, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 26, 2024, 06:23 IST