Opposition groups in India have stepped up pressure on the government to condemn the Russian-led invasion of Ukraine, a day after an Indian student was killed in a bomb blast near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
India has not yet publicly condemned Russia, which supplies arms, and has called on both sides to halt hostilities, angering its other allies, including the United States.
Thousands of Indian students remain trapped in Ukraine, prompting calls for the government to step up pressure on Russia to facilitate efforts to remove them.
“The government of India must stop the energy balance and urge Russia to immediately stop bombing key Ukrainian cities,” Chidabaram, a member of the opposition Congress, said on Twitter.
India abstained from a vote in the UN Security Council condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, despite a discreet change of heart in recent days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi “stressed the importance of respecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations” during a telephone conversation with Polish President Andrei Duda, the Indian Foreign Ministry said late last night.
In addition, India has taken a critical stance on Russian President Vladimir Putin, a source in the Indian Foreign Ministry said.
Russia has long supported India internationally on critical issues, including Kashmir, the disputed region between India, Pakistan and China, and has provided most of its military equipment.
New Delhi has been trying for decades to reduce its dependence on Russian-made weapons, while maintaining a close relationship with Moscow, drawing closer to its rival Asian power, China.
“India is increasingly uncomfortable with the position that Russia has taken, but it is very difficult to express it publicly,” said Hars Pandt, a geopolitical and defense analyst at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.
About 60 percent of India’s military equipment is still Russian-made, Pand said, and a relationship with Moscow is needed to maintain equipment and supply spare parts.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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