{"id":229649,"date":"2023-03-03T19:42:52","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T14:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=229649"},"modified":"2023-03-03T19:42:52","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T14:12:52","slug":"positing-indias-stand-on-the-ukraine-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/positing-indias-stand-on-the-ukraine-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Positing India\u2019s stand on the Ukraine war"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cPositing India\u2019s stand on the Ukraine war\u201d <\/strong>published in The Hindu <\/strong>on 3rd March 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS2- International relations<\/p>\n

Relevance:<\/strong> India and Ukraine crisis<\/p>\n

News- <\/strong>Recently, UNGA adopted a resolution, calling for an end to the war. The resolution was favoured by 141 members and opposed by seven, while 32 states abstained. India was one among the 32.<\/p>\n

What is the Indian position on the Ukraine crisis?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

India has refused to condemn Russia<\/strong> for the invasion. It has refused to join the West\u2019s sanctions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It has stepped up buying Russian fuel at a discounted price, and has consistently abstained from UN votes<\/strong> on the war.<\/p>\n

What is the viewpoint of the west on the Ukraine war?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is a global crusade for democracy<\/strong>. The war by an authoritarian Russia is a challenge to global democracy. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

To save<\/strong> global democracy,<\/strong> the rules \u00adbased order and international law<\/strong>, all democratic states should take a position against Russia and join the western coalition.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is this a battle between democracies and autocracies? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

An overwhelming majority of nations have supported UNGA resolutions<\/strong> calling for the war to be brought to an end. But beyond the UN votes, the U.S. has hardly managed to mobilise democracies<\/strong> outside its traditional western alliance system<\/strong> against Russia.<\/p>\n

India and South Africa, large democracies from Asia and Africa, have consistently abstained from votes<\/strong> at the UN. They have refused to join the sanctions<\/strong> because the sanctions were unilateral, and without UN approval.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even some countries that are part of the western alliance system like Israel and Turkey <\/strong>are reluctant to join the west. Most of these countries see the war as a European problem <\/strong>between two former Soviet countries with its roots going back to the end of the Cold War. <\/strong><\/p>\n

For them, it is less about global democracy than the post \u00adCold War security architecture in Europe.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why western claims of morality in the Ukraine war seem to be dubious?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There is no doubt here that Russia has violated the sovereignty of Ukraine<\/strong>. Russia\u2019s annexation of Ukrainian territories is a clear violation of international laws. <\/strong><\/p>\n

But a key dilemma before any country in international relations is clash between moral positions and national interests.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the U.S. and much of Europe, there is a convergence of their moral positions and foreign policy objectives <\/strong>in the case of the Ukraine war. The U.S. wants to \u201cweaken\u201d Russia.<\/strong> So, the moral line they take serves their strategic purpose. <\/strong><\/p>\n

However, this position was violated when there were clashes between values and interests.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2003, the U.S. launched its illegal invasion of Iraq, violating the country\u2019s sovereignty. In 2011, NATO turned a UNSC resolution<\/strong> to establish a no fly zone in Libya into a full scale invasion. Right now, the U.S. has illegally placed its troops in Syria.<\/p>\n

Israel has illegally annexed East Jerusalem and Syria\u2019s Golan Heights<\/strong>. The U.S. has recognised Israel\u2019s annexation of Golan and moved its embassy to Jerusalem. <\/strong><\/p>\n

What ties with Russia are important for India?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ties with Russia are important for India in many ways. One important area is energy. <\/strong>Discounted fuel from Russia is a relief for India. It meets over 80% of its fuel needs<\/strong> through imports.<\/p>\n

Defence ties<\/strong> are also important, Russia has fulfilled over 46% of India\u2019s defence needs<\/strong> in the last five years. There is a sound argument that India should diversify its source of defence imports<\/strong>, but such a change would take time.<\/p>\n

Russia is deepening its ties with China<\/strong>, which is India\u2019s main competitor. India should retain its leverage <\/strong>over Russia.<\/p>\n

To manage its continental interests<\/strong>, India has to work with powers in the Eurasian landmass. <\/strong>The U.S. is practically absent, especially after its disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Russia plays a key role in India\u2019s continental foreign policy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What should be India’s diplomatic stand on the Ukraine crisis?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Neither the weakening of Russia nor the destruction of Ukraine<\/strong> is in its interests. India wants an immediate end to the war and a new security equilibrium<\/strong> between great powers.<\/p>\n

It will stabilise the global economy<\/strong> and the world could focus on more pressing problems\u00a0 from climate change to UN reforms.<\/p>\n

India should stick to its pragmatic neutrality, rooted in realism<\/strong>. It should continue to push for a practical solution to the Ukraine crisis.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source– The post is based on the article \u201cPositing India\u2019s stand on the Ukraine war\u201d published in The Hindu on 3rd March 2023. Syllabus: GS2- International relations Relevance: India and Ukraine crisis News- Recently, UNGA adopted a resolution, calling for an end to the war. The resolution was favoured by 141 members and opposed by… Continue reading Positing India\u2019s stand on the Ukraine war<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,10498],"class_list":["post-229649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1703349282},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229649\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}