Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin believes that he can resolve the ongoing diplomatic crisis between India and China. The Russian strongman recently said that he would soon hold a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue.

Speaking at a media conference in Moscow, President Putin said: “Yes, I do know that there are some issues related to India-China relations, but there are always a lot of issues between neighbouring countries. I know the attitude of both the Prime Minister of India and also the President of China. These are very responsible people and they earnestly treat one another with utmost respect and I believe that they will always arrive at a solution to any issue that they might face.” At the same time, he stressed: “But, it is important that no other extra-regional power is interfering with that.” According to Diplomats, the Russian president indirectly advised the US not to get involved in the Sino-Indian crisis.

Interestingly, President Putin expressed his desire to mediate between the two Asian neighbours exactly a year after the Indian and Chinese Armed Forces had clashed in Ladakh. The two Armies have retreated from the Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake region. Pangong is an endorheic lake, spanning eastern Ladakh and West Tibet, which is situated at an elevation of 4,225mt. However, New Delhi and Beijing have not yet reached an agreement on retreating troops from other areas. Russia, as a common friend, had helped both India and China reduce tensions immediately after the armed conflict. Hence, the Russian president’s latest remark is significant.

President Putin also expressed his views on the activities of QUAD or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, an informal strategic alliance between the US, Japan, Australia and India. Beijing believes that the four countries have formed the alliance to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific Region. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, too, recently criticised the alliance. On this particular issue, the Russian president stated: “We are not participating in the QUAD, it is not my place to give my assessment to any other country participating in any initiative because every sovereign nation has the right to decide with whom and to what extent they are building their relations.” He added: “I only believe that any partnership between countries should be aimed at making friends against anyone, No.”

When asked whether the growing proximity between Moscow and Beijing would impact the Moscow-New Delhi security and defence co-operation, President Putin said that relations between India and Russia were developing quite rapidly, as it was based on “trust”. “We highly appreciate such a high level of co-operation with our Indian friends. These relations are of a strategic nature. They cover a whole range of avenues of our co-operation in economy, energy and hi-tech. In defence, and I am not just talking about purchase of Russian arms… we have very deep profound relations with India based on trust,” he insisted.

The Geopolitical Experts are of the opinion that the Russian president badly wants to normalise ties between India and China in an attempt to counter the dominance of the US, Japan and Australia in the Indo-Pacific Region. The increasing proximity between the US, Japan, Australia, India and South Korea has not only started posing a serious threat to China, but also to Russia and North Korea. However, it is quite difficult to predict the future of QUAD, in a changing global geopolitical landscape.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das