India stance on Ukraine-Russia conflict unsatisfactory but unsurprising: US

India’s stance at the United Nations (UN) regarding Ukraine has been unsatisfactory but ultimately unsurprising, a senior White House official said on Friday. 

Mira Rapp-Hooper, the director of the Indo-Pacific on the White House National Security Council, spoke to an online forum hosted by Washington’s School of Advanced International Studies, saying that India shared a historical relationship with Russia and needed an alternative to its continued close links with Moscow. 

Also Read | India’s neutrality in Russia-Ukraine war nearly ruined by judge at ICJ

The official said, “I think we would certainly all acknowledge and agree that when it comes to votes at the U.N., India’s position on the current crisis has been unsatisfactory, to say the least. But it’s also been totally unsurprising”. 

Recently, India has grown close to Washington too and is a member of the Quad which pushes back against Chinese dominance. However, Russia is a major supplier of its defence equipment. Thus, India has largely remained mum at the UN when it came to voting on Russia sending troops into Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin has clarified is intended to “denazify” and “demilitarize” the neighbouring country. 

According to the White House official, India grew closer to Russia to help against China, but the country has since then thought “long and hard” about depending on Moscow for defence capacities. 

Also Read | Is Putin changing goalposts to claim easy victory in Ukraine?

Rapp-Hooper added, “I think our perspective would be that the way forward involves keeping India close, thinking hard about how to present it with options, so that it can continue to provide for its strategic autonomy”.

She continued, “We have a number of partners that have chosen to keep their chips in with Russia, in terms of their defence procurement, in part as a hedge against China, but who are now in a place of reconsidering the wisdom of those decisions. Not only will they need to make long-term decisions about how to potentially replace Russian systems in the immediate term, they will need to be able to get supplies and spare parts to be able to maintain their own militaries”. 

Also Read | Putin’s remark on cancel culture of Russia, JK Rowling sparks internet frenzy

Notably, India had already run the risk of US sanctions when the nation procured the S-400 air defence system from Russia, before the Ukraine incident. The nation also kept avenues open to procuring crude oil from Russia, despite the US placing an import ban as part of sanctions. India’s decision, at the time, drew the ire of some Americans since New Delhi refused to align itself with Washington.