Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and President Vladmir Putin of Russia participated in the 22nd India-Russia summit in Moscow, even as a US-NATO Summit was held in Washington. The meeting was quite significant in that it signals the new evolving multipolarity in global politics through which small nations like Guyana will have to dance between the raindrops. The poles of power number the US, EU, China, Russia, Japan, India, and possibly Brazil in our continent.
Much has been written about a possible Cold War brewing between the present world hegemon – the US, and its challenger China, and of the dangers of history repeating itself from the first iteration when numerous countries like Guyana were caught in the crossfire. The example of India in the present is hopefully not unique. It offers hope that amidst all the competition, conflicts, turmoil, and even wars, in a multipolar world, countries might be able to maintain positive linkages with even putative enemies as they seek to further their national interests. Russia is presently in the crosshairs of the US, which has vigorously supported Ukraine in its defence against the invading Russian army. At the same time, India is a member of the Quad defence alliance that includes the US, Japan, India, and Australia to checkmate Chinese expansionism in the Pacific. In the meantime, China is the firmest ally of Russia and has been steadfast in the latter’s support.
After the US and its European allies imposed a blockade on Russian oil, India benefited enormously from the deep discount prices under which it was able to purchase the “surplus” oil to keep its “Make in India” programme growing. While voices were raised in the US and EU about this safety valve offered to Russia, India was able to successfully argue that not only did the purchases serve its national interest, but the EU itself had not sanctioned oil from Russia via pipelines but merely that shipped via the sea. The almost inevitable march of Donald Trump back into the White House, and his commitment to ceasing the carte blanche the Biden Administration has given Ukraine, shows that countries such as Guyana have to be careful in reflexively following initiatives the competing power players might take against each other.
It was, therefore, quite significant that the Putin-Modi meeting was consummated while India’s relations with the US remained firm. The previous summit was in Dec 2021 in Delhi and when none was held in 2022 or 2023 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, some felt that this signalled Indian skittishness in the face of US-EU diplomatic concerns. The Indian Foreign Minister’s retort then was that not every European problem was the world’s problem. Earlier this year when asked by a Japanese Journalist about India’s “silence” on the invasion, S Jaishankar’s more nuanced answer is significant on the question of national interest. “… the world is a complicated place, and there are many important principles and beliefs in the world. What happens sometimes in world politics is that countries pick one issue, one situation, or one principle, and they highlight it because it suits them.
But if one looks at the principle itself, we in India know better than almost any other country, because immediately after our independence, we experienced aggression, we experienced an effort to change our boundaries.”
Hence, the real significance of the Putin-Modi summit is that it took place after the three-year hiatus and especially during a NATO summit. The Indian Foreign Secretary emphasised before the meeting that they look at their “relationship with Russia purely from a framework of reference of bilateral relationships”, but also stressed that the visit would be an occasion to discuss “various areas of importance in bilateral engagement and also issues of regional and global importance of mutual interest and help broaden the scope of our partnership” .
However, in a principled stance when a Russian missile attack hit a hospital in Kyiv, killing several children Modi offered a pointed rebuke to Putin. “When innocent children are killed, the heart bleeds and that pain is very terrifying.”
