India has strongly defended its “freedom of choice” in foreign relations following a sharp critique from a US official regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow earlier this month. The exchange of statements came at a critical time, as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar began his visit to Laos and Japan, where he is expected to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the ASEAN and Quad meetings.
The controversy began when US Under Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Donald Lu, expressed disappointment to the US Congress about the “symbolism and timing” of Modi’s trip to Russia. Lu highlighted the “tough conversations” taking place between the US and India over their relationship with Russia, despite efforts to mitigate the impact on US-India ties, including a call between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan.
“You must understand that India has a long-standing relationship with Russia that is based on the mutuality of interests,” responded External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during the Ministry’s weekly briefing.
“In a multipolar world, all countries have freedom of choice. It is essential for everybody to be mindful of and appreciate such realities,” he added, highlighting India’s sovereign right to determine its foreign relations.
Lu’s comments were made during a congressional hearing on the Budget Request for South and Central Asian Affairs, where he addressed Modi’s embrace of President Vladimir Putin on the same day Russia launched missiles on Ukraine, including a children’s hospital. “I could not agree with you more about our disappointment about the symbolism and the timing of Prime Minister Modi’s trip to Moscow. We are having those tough conversations with our Indian friends, I assure you,” Lu told lawmakers.
Despite his critique, Lu attempted to defend the visit, noting that Modi had met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a few weeks prior and had discussed the missile attacks with Putin. He pointed out that no new major defence deals or significant technological cooperation were concluded during the visit.
Lu also made an unverified claim that India had cancelled “billions of dollars in defence purchases” from Russia over the past two and a half years due to Russia’s inability to deliver, and emphasized the US efforts in this regard.
However, as has been reported previously, some India-Russia military hardware deals have stalled due to India’s focus on self-reliance under the “Atmanirbhar” or Make in India projects. Though no deals have been cancelled in recent years, the long pending military logistical agreement RELOS has not been inked yet.
When questioned about Lu’s assertions, the official spokesperson of MEA avoided directly addressing the claims but noted that the joint statements from Modi’s visit to Russia highlighted a special “thrust on economic aspects of the relationship,” signalling the future direction of India-Russia ties.
Bottomline
India’s firm stance on maintaining its independent foreign policy is a clear message to the international community about its sovereign right to make decisions that align with its national interests.