The UN Security Council is set to vote on a draft resolution on Russia's military action in Ukraine and the deteriorating situation in the eastern European country on Friday evening.
Russia said on Friday that it expects India to back it in the United Nations Security Council when it considers a critical resolution on Russia's military action in Ukraine. Russia's Charge d'Affaires Roman Babushkin stated that India has a thorough grasp of the factors that led to the current crisis in Ukraine and that Moscow expects continuous assistance from New Delhi by the two countries' special and privileged strategic alliance. The UN Security Council is set to vote on a draft resolution on Russia's military action in Ukraine and the deteriorating situation in the eastern European country on Friday evening.
"We greatly appreciate India's thorough knowledge of the current situation and the factors that led to it. We anticipate India to back Russia in the UN Security Council," Babushkin said PTI.
The draft resolution is expected to strongly criticise Russia's military action in Ukraine, which has sparked widespread indignation among Western nations.
Appreciating India's stance, the Russian envoy further alluded to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's remarks three days earlier in Paris that the issue in Ukraine is rooted in post-Soviet politics and the growth of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). "India has taken a very balanced and independent stance. We appreciate it, and we continue to expect India's support by the two countries' unique and privileged strategic partnership," Babushkin explained.
When asked about India's position on the draft UN Security Council resolution on the Ukraine crisis at a media briefing on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India had seen it and that New Delhi's position will depend on the final shape of its text. "It is expected to undergo significant changes, according to my sources. We will wait to see what shape the resolution takes before announcing ourselves and our position on the issue," according to the foreign secretary.
The Russian Charge d'Affaires stated that Russia has been in close contact with India over the recent events in Ukraine. "We are keeping all lines of communication open with India, and it has a thorough awareness of the whole issue," he added. In the midst of the worsening crisis in Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke by phone with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, calling for a stop to bloodshed and a determined effort from all parties to return to the road of diplomatic engagement.
According to a Russian readout, Putin presented the core evaluations of Ukraine's "aggressive activities" against the civilian population of Donbas, as well as years of "destructive strategy" aimed at violating the Minsk agreements. Jaishankar, too, spoke via phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and emphasised that communication and diplomacy are the best ways to deal with the problem.
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