Days after promising military equipment to Pakistan, Russia on Wednesday tried to pacify India by assuring that Moscow’s ties with New Delhi and Islamabad are independent. Moreover, India is a “trusted partner” of Russia, its envoy said here.
His statement came after Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent visit to New Delhi and then to Islamabad. In Pakistan, Lavrov said Russia was ready to supply special military equipment to Pakistan to boost its counter-terror capabilities.
Allaying apprehension, Deputy Chief of Russian Embassy Roman Babushkin said India is a “trusted partner”, and there were no divergences or misunderstandings between the two countries and that it has “limited cooperation” with Pakistan based on “independent” relations.
He also welcomed the recent commitment by India and Pakistan to follow the 2003 ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) and said these are “very important steps” for regional stability.
However, at a joint media briefing with Babushkin, Russian Ambassador Nikolay Kudashev criticised the Indo-Pacific strategy by western countries describing it as “dangerous” and an effort to revive the cold war mentality.
Babushkin said India must be part of the process of shaping regional consensus on Afghanistan and that New Delhi and Moscow have similar approaches for the Afghan peace process.
Asked about reports of bad optics during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent visit to India, as he travelled to Islamabad from Delhi, Babushkin said, “Russia has independent ties with Pakistan and that it does not target any relations against anyone.”
“We believe that there is absolutely no reason to see that there are divergences or any misunderstandings between us. It is not the case in Russia-India ties,” he said.
Nikolay Kudashev said India is a trusted partner of Russia and ties between the two countries were “equal, solid, comprehensive, coherent and forward-looking.”
He also mentioned that the visit by Lavrov to India on April 6 contributed a lot to the ties. “It was a very important and remarkable event, which contributed a lot to the special and privileged strategic partnership between our two friendly nations. Our ties remain equal, solid, comprehensive, coherent and forward-looking despite any global turbulence,” he added.
The Ambassador said the visit was aimed at preparations for the India-Russia summit which is expected to take place in the second half of the year.
Babushkin said Russia has independent relations with India, Pakistan and other countries and the relations are based on their own merits.
“We are all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and develop cooperation in various fields including regional security, fight against terrorism and to deal with other threats,” he said.
“Russia has limited cooperation with Pakistan as compared to India. However, the fight against terrorism is our common agenda. So, we also help Pakistan in providing anti-terrorism equipment and holding dedicated exercise,” he added.
Babushkin said Russia respects the Simla agreement of 1972 and Lahore declaration of 1999 and that it has no intention to interfere in issues between the two sides.
The Russian ambassador also reiterated that Moscow will honour all the arms deals with India, including the contract for S-400 air defence systems, despite the threat of US sanctions.
The diplomats, however, underlined Russia’s concerns about the Indo-Pacific concept and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, with Kudashev saying the West’s Indo-Pacific strategy is aimed at reviving Cold War-era structures.
Kudashev described military cooperation as one of the most important tracks of the India-Russia relationship and said all arms deals were on track despite the threat of US sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
“Together with India, we don’t recognise bilateral sanctions as they are illegal tools of unlawful and unfair competition, pressure and even blackmail. It was clearly stated by the two foreign ministers in the course of their exchange,” Kudashev said.
“With regard to the S-400 and other agreements, both sides are committed to the agreed timelines and other obligations. This contract is being successfully fulfilled,” he said, referring to the $5.4-billion deal for five S-400 systems.
In response to a question on India-China tensions linked to the standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Babushkin said, “We are following the developments at the LAC and we would encourage India and China to continue disengagement efforts in order to promote constructive and forward-looking dialogue.”