The representative of Europe just put the squeeze on her Indian counterpart, the expert believes/indiatimes.com
Eurocommission President Ursula von der Leyen paid an official visit to New Delhi at the end of April. As part of this diplomatic trip, the EU representative held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
What Modi demanded for the transition to the bright side, how the Europeans are going to put India off the Russian armed needle, and also about the victory of Western diplomacy on the Indian front – in an exclusive interview with Channel 24, the Ukrainian diplomat and public figure, international lawyer, chairman of the board of the NGO “European movement of Ukraine”, managing partner of the law firm “UMAS”, former director of the Coordinating Bureau for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Vadim Tryukhan.
Visit of the President of the European Commission to India
Vadim, why did Ursula von der Leyen go to India?
In general, the position of India in relation to the Ukrainian Patriotic War is very important. At the beginning of the Russian invasion, this state occupied an unfavorable position for us.
I remember how I participated in one of the talk shows on the Indian TV channel Respublica on the 5th or 6th day after the start of a new active phase of the war. I was shocked by what was happening. An absolute imbalance reigned. Indian television people invited Russian propagandists and every question the presenter asked in front of four hundred million viewers was painted over in very prejudiced tones.
Unable to bear it, I decided to leave the studio at the end of the show in protest. After some time, it was seen how the position of the official New Delhi is changing. The local media people even recorded an interview with our president, about three weeks ago. During communication with Zelensky, the interviewer no longer tried to manipulate, as he had done before.
During the visit/Photo by newsonair.com
It is also noteworthy that the Indian side no longer takes such a pro-Russian position during the voting for the latest UN resolutions. I consider it a mistake that domestic journalists ignored such an event as the visit of Ursula von der Leyen to the Indian capital.
This event was preceded by an equally important telephone conversation between Biden and Modi. The American leader then set himself the goal of convincing the Indian prime minister to go over to the side of the forces of good.
The second important point is that the head of the European Commission did not officially go to hold a bilateral meeting. The reason for the trip was announced participation in an international conference, in which the Russian representative was also supposed to participate. So, the Indians went to meet Europe and withdrew the invitation for the Russian.
The Russians considered and still consider India their strategic partner, so for them this review was a very resonant diplomatic slap.
Returning to the essence of the issue, I note that India is included in the list of countries that are the largest importers of weapons. The country satisfies 60-70% of all import requests by purchasing Russian weapons. Although there were many ambiguities between the parties in the history of their cooperation in this direction.
For example, at one time New Delhi invested a huge amount of resources in vain in the Russian aircraft of the 5th generation SU-35, which did not satisfy the Indian side. And yet.
Russia and India have long tried to build good neighborly relations. Consequently, the task of our partners in the West now is to tear India away from Russia and join the democratic camp of the states that have formed an anti-Russian coalition today. It's not hard for Ursula von der Leyen to convince New Delhi to stop buying Russian oil and weapons.
In addition, the European leader reminded that it would be nice for India to at least partially support Western sanctions against the Kremlin. During the meeting, the head of the European Commission told Narendra Modi that his state should live not in today's time, but in the future. Because India has great potential for future development for centuries to come.
Vadim Tryukhan recalled the potential of India/Photo from the speaker's archive
The positive tone of the meeting was prompted by the respectful reception of a high-ranking European official in India. I think that the meeting can be assessed positively. As a result, if there was no turning point, then at least a serious step was taken towards the excommunication of New Delhi from Moscow.
That is, what the American president failed to do, could the head of the European Commission?
When Biden spoke with Modi, the world had not yet learned about the atrocities of the Russians in Bucha, and the meeting of the defense ministers of 43 states at the Ramstein air base had not yet taken place at that time.
Many changes have occurred since this telephone conversation took place. The representative of Europe simply put the squeeze on her Indian counterpart, adding another brick to the foundation of future rapprochement in the West-India-Ukraine format. These qualitatively new relations should appear on the laid foundation within the next weeks, if not months.
India's demands
We know that Indians are very enterprising people at their core. What did Modi demand in exchange for his loyalty?
At one time, while practicing law, he dealt with Indians as well. They are the hardest to deal with. They are very strong negotiators. Although they smile at you, they will not compromise their own interests in the slightest.
For India, the key issue is opening access to Western markets. They want to work together on an equal footing with the West, which until recently looked down on India a little. And, by the way, according to some forecasts of Western financial analysts, by 2035, it was the Indian economy that was destined to become the most developed. Therefore, there is something to fight for.
Therefore, by the way, during the visit of Ursula von der Leyen, the creation of an international commission on trade and technology was proclaimed. As a bonus, they announced the intensification of negotiations on the creation of a free trade zone between the EU and India.
Europeans finally see in their eastern Indian partners worthy of conducting common affairs of this magnitude people. Not forgetting at the same time about our own benefits from the updated model of cooperation. Therefore, here I would rather focus on the mutual benefit of both sides from building close bilateral cooperation, and not purely on preferences for India.
Europe will put India off the Russian armed needle?
Yes, and that too. To the talk about the Free Trade Zone was added a dialogue about the need to replace Russian weapons for India with European ones. Ursula von der Leyen, on behalf of the European Union, assured Modi that this Indian need would be met.
Special attention should be paid to the Indian side's request for Western technology. This is exactly what this country needs almost most of all now.
Does it mean that India is now on our side in the confrontation with the Kremlin?
To some extent it is. However, not completely. India will not immediately stop buying Russian weapons or oil. This is how the models of doing business in the foreign policy arena are built in most Eastern states. The West now needs to maintain constant contact with New Delhi in order to convince more and more of the correctness of the “bright path”, which India is already beginning to prefer over the dark path.
