The criticism of India’s stance on Russia isn’t widespread in the US and that New Delhi’s position on the Ukraine issue is “well-understood” across the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.
"I don't think this type of perception is widespread in the US,” PM Modi told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in an exclusive interview published on Tuesday.
The answer came in response to a question on past comments by the Biden administration about New Delhi’s position on Ukraine.
India has refused to heed to the West-led calls to vote against its time-tested friend Russia at the United Nations (UN) over the special military operation in Ukraine.
“I think India's position is well known and well understood in the entire world. The world has full confidence that India's top-most priority is peace,” Modi told the publication.
Since last year, New Delhi has significantly ramped up its commercial ties with Moscow, largely on account of a surge in Russian crude imports. In recent months, Russia has emerged as the top crude supplier of New Delhi, overtaking its traditional energy-suppliers in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Modi has said that Russian energy exports have ensured India’s “energy security” amid a global churn in crude prices caused by West-led efforts to phase out Russian commodities from the global supply chains.
Modi Talks About UN Reforms, China Ties
During his interview with the WSJ, Modi also reiterated New Delhi’s previous calls for effecting multilateral governance reforms to reflect at the increasingly “multipolar world order”.
He said that global institutions should be more representative of the less-affluent nations in the world.
Modi said that India would like to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
“The world should be asked if it wants India to be there,” he said.
Speaking on India’s ties with China, Modi said that bilateral relations could only progress if there is peace and stability at the border.
“For normal bilateral ties with China, peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential,” he said.
Thousands of Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a military standoff at two friction points in the eastern Ladakh region, in a border dispute which began in 2020.
In June 2020, the troops from opposing sides clashed in the Galwan Valley region, causing the deaths of 20 Indian and five Chinese soldiers.
New Delhi has said that the incident “profoundly” disturbed trust between India and China.