India’s official position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine is notoriously hard to pin down. Within the last two weeks alone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly reproved Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling him that “this is not the era for war.”
But then India, as a member of the U.N. Security Council, abstained on a vote condemning Moscow’s “annexation” of Ukrainian territory. To add insult to injury, Modi also told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy there was “no military solution” to the conflict — just as the Ukrainian army was blitzing across parts of northeastern and southern Ukraine.
To questions being asked — including by Indians — about this somewhat confusing stand, the government has a clear answer: India will do what is in its own interests. This is a comforting proposition, and not one anyone can disagree with.
