Indian prime minister Narendra Modi delivered an unexpected public rebuke of Russia’s war against Ukraine during a conversation on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization today. He also seemed to say that he’s voiced doubts about the invasion during his private conversations with Putin.
“I know that today’s era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this,” Modi said, according to Reuters. The newswire also reported that as Modi made this comment, Putin “pursed his lips, glanced at Modi and then looked down before touching the hair on the back of his head.”
Putin then responded to Modi’s remarks, saying that he knows Modi’s position on Ukraine as well as “the concerns that you constantly express.” “We will do everything to stop this as soon as possible,” the Russian president said, claiming that Ukraine had refused Russia’s attempts to negotiate a ceasefire.
While the U.S. and its allies have vocally condemned the Russian invasion, India had, until today, taken a conspicuously cautious approach to the matter. At the U.N., India has abstained on a series of significant votes related to the war until late August, when it supported a procedural motion to permit Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to address the Security Council. In April, New Delhi had also abstained during a vote that led to Russia’s suspension from the U.N. Human Rights Council.
In early September, Modi spoke publicly about the “special partnership” between India and Russia, during remarks to Vladivostok’s Eastern Economic Forum. He also urged “diplomacy and dialogue” to end the war. His remarks criticizing the Russian invasion come as Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive and retaken significant swaths of territory in eastern Ukraine.
Modi’s comments during the SCO summit — which has also convened the heads of several authoritarian states — may also have been motivated, at least in part, by India’s growing work to counter Beijing.
Although India’s concerns about China had brought it into closer cooperation with U.S.-led efforts to counter Beijing’s aggression, the country has still maintained its defense ties with Moscow, leading to at least one recent diplomatic spat.
When Russia hosted multinational military exercises in its far Eastern regions in recent weeks, India sent troops to participate. Interestingly, the exercises, called Vostok 2022, drew criticism from Japan, as Russia and China announced plans to conduct naval drills near islands claimed by Tokyo and Moscow.
That’s significant, considering New Delhi’s adversarial posture toward China and the diplomatic arrangements which concerns about Chinese aggression have inspired. India and Japan, along with the U.S. and Australia, are members of the Quad grouping, which convenes officials from the four countries for dialogues on the Indo-Pacific region; this initiative is widely understood to be an effort intended to counter Beijing’s growing influence and military strength.
After Japanese officials objected to India’s participation in Vostok, India declined to participate in the naval portions of the drills.
India’s purchase of Russian S-400 air-defense systems has also been cause for concern in Washington, sparking a debate in Congress as to whether the U.S. should exempt India from sanctions triggered by its purchase of Russian weapons. So far, lawmakers and the State Department have declined to impose penalties for the S-400 purchase.
One point that may prevent Modi from making a more substantive break from Putin is energy. Since the outset of Russia’s war in Ukraine, India seems to have received an effective discount on its oil imports from Russia, the Financial Times reported.
Ahead of Modi’s meeting with Putin, Indian officials said that the prime minister would discuss “energy security and other issues” during the SCO summit.