- Joint article by UK, France, Germany envoys criticizes Russia's Ukraine war efforts
- Indian MEA officials find timing of article unusual and diplomatically inappropriate before Putin visit
- Article accuses Russia of avoiding peace talks and continuing ruthless attacks on Ukraine
A joint opinion piece by envoys of three Western countries to India -- the UK, France and Germany -- right before Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit has ticked off New Delhi.
Top officials in the Ministry of External Affairs said they have taken note of the article published in The Times of India. They said the timing of the article is "very unusual" and that "it is not an acceptable diplomatic practice to give public advice on India's relations with a third country".
The joint piece, which carries the bylines of French Ambassador Thierry Mathou, German High Commissioner Philipp Ackermann and the UK High Commissioner Lindy Cameron, is headlined, 'World Wants The Ukraine War To End, But Russia Doesn't Seem Serious About Peace'."
The article criticises the Russian President for the continuing war in Ukraine. Referring to drone and missile attacks, it says, "These are not the actions of someone that is serious about peace. Neither are these indiscriminate attacks mere accidents - they are a systematic choice by Russia to wage its war of aggression with absolute ruthlessness. And it must end." The article accuses Moscow of refusing to engage in meaningful negotiations or agreeing to a ceasefire.
The envoys have written in the article that the governments of Germany, France and the UK - all of them NATO members - will continue to provide "ironclad support" to Ukraine. "As President Putin stalls and delays on serious peace talks, we will continue to step up our military and non-military support to Ukraine, so that it can rightly defend its people, its land and its sovereignty," it says.
The timing of the article is significant as it came days before the Russian President lands in Delhi to attend the annual India-Russia summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi.
Ahead of the visit, Putin has said Moscow aims to "elevate cooperation" with India and China to a "qualitatively new level". "We aim to elevate cooperation with the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India to a qualitatively new level by strengthening its technological component. This is the objective of numerous joint projects in energy, industry, space, agriculture, and other sectors," he said.
Ever since the war in Ukraine began in 2022, India has refused to join any camp and balanced its response with its strategic interests. Prime Minister Modi has repeatedly said "this is not an era of war" and called for an end to the military action. Russia is India's all-weather ally, and New Delhi also has strong ties with NATO partners, including the US, which has sanctioned Moscow over the war. New Delhi has deftly balanced these ties in a diplomatic tightrope walk.
India has earlier defended its trade with Russia, including the purchase of crude oil, after most of the West sanctioned Russia. Dr S Jaishankar had then said that the West needs to grow out of the mindset that "Europe's problems are the world's problems, but the world's problems are not Europe's problems".
