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Western Comments on Modi's Russia Visit Detached From Reality

© AP Photo / Mikhail KlimentyevRussian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the International Jigoro Kano Judo Tournament at the 5th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. Russian far-eastern city of Vladivostok hosts the Eastern Economic Forum on September 4-6. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the International Jigoro Kano Judo Tournament at the 5th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. Russian far-eastern city of Vladivostok hosts the Eastern Economic Forum on September 4-6. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) - Sputnik India, 1920, 08.07.2024
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has told Russian media that the West is "jealous" over the Modi-Putin Summit and would be "closely monitoring" the Russia-India leadership talks.
There is a sense of outrage in India over the comments of certain western commentators who have targeted Russia-India bilateral relationship in the lead-up to 22nd Annual Summit to be co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday.

Derek Grossman, a senior defense analyst at RAND Corporation, focusing on Indo-Pacific security issues, touched a raw nerve of many Indian commentators after he described the upcoming meeting between Modi and Putin as "disgraceful".

Grossman said that the Modi-Putin Summit, the first since December 2021, would be taking place at the same time when the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies would kickstart their three-day meeting in Washington DC to shore up financial and military support for Ukraine.
Quoting from a news article, Grossman said that Modi's visit to Russia dented West's efforts to cast Putin as a "pariah".
According to NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, leaders of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea will be present in Washington on Tuesday in a bid to expand support for Kiev in the Indo-Pacific region.
Grossman's comments are viewed as reflecting a deep-rooted frustration in the Western capitals over their failure to "isolate" Russia globally.
© Photo : X/ScreenshotUS Expert's Comments on Modi-Putin Summit Stirs Online Outrage
US Expert's Comments on Modi-Putin Summit Stirs Online Outrage - Sputnik India, 1920, 08.07.2024
US Expert's Comments on Modi-Putin Summit Stirs Online Outrage
© PhotoUS expert's remarks ahead of Modi-Putin meet
US expert's remarks ahead of Modi-Putin meet - Sputnik India, 1920, 08.07.2024
US expert's remarks ahead of Modi-Putin meet

India's Official Position

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra has categorically rejected the idea that Modi's visit was intended to convey a strategic message to any third country.
"We look at our relationship with Russia purely from a framework of reference of bilateral relationships," Kwatra told a special briefing in New Delhi on Friday evening.

In his departure message before emplaning for Moscow on Monday morning, Prime Minister Modi reiterated that the Moscow trip was intended to review all aspects of bilateral cooperation with his "friend" President Putin.

Modi said that the two leaders would share perspectives on various regional and global issues.

'Biased and Hypocritical Comments'

However, in spite of New Delhi's reassurances, Western experts have targeted Russia-India cooperation.
Rajiv Bhatia, a Distinguished Fellow at Indian think tank Gateway House and a former Indian Ambassador, told Sputnik India that PM Modi's visit to Russia was "imbued with deep bilateral, regional and global significance".

"To deliberately underestimate its importance by calling it 'disgraceful' reveals a characteristic mix of ignorance, hypocrisy and bias. Such observations must be ignored," Bhatia stated.

He underlined that Russia and India have established a "vital strategic partnership", expressing confidence that it would be further "strengthened" by the upcoming summit.

Echoing these sentiments, Major General (retired) Shashi Bhushan Asthana, the Director of New Delhi-based think tank United Service Institution (USI) of India, stated that the official visit should be viewed strictly in a "bilateral context".

"There is an institutional mechanism in place for the leaders of Russia and India to meet annually. The visit is not directly related to Russia-Ukraine conflict at all," Asthana told Sputnik India, adding that the bilateral relationship has been a "geopolitical constant which has stood the test of time".
He underscored that the strategic relationship has come to encompass many angles – trade, energy, defence, civil nuclear cooperation, connectivity as well as the issue of payments among others.
Reacting to the disparaging comments by Western experts, Asthana described them as "misplaced".
He further pointed out that no fingers were pointed by Russia when the Indian Prime Minister paid a state visit to Washington last June.

"India is not Ukraine, which has to ask the US before making any sovereign decision, nor is Indian foreign policy hostage to any other country!" Asthana said in a pointed reference to Grossman's remarks.

'India Seeks to Act as Bridge Between East and West'

Former Indian Ambassador Anil Trigunayat said that the "trust quotient" between Russia and India was probably the "highest" for any bilateral relationship managed by Moscow.
Trigunayat stated that India was seeking to act as a "bridge" between Russia and the West.
He said that Modi was viewed as a "trusted interlocutor" on the global stage.
"While India has consistently advocated dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the Ukraine conflict, it declined to endorse the joint communique at the Swiss Summit believing it could have led to a more divisive outcome, as Russia wasn’t on the table," the former Ambassador concluded.
President Vladimir Putin and Prime Pinister Narendra Modi - Sputnik India, 1920, 05.07.2024
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