Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Caught between the two Cold War-era superpowers, India has had to do a delicate balancing act so as not to annoy either side. However, with thousands of Indian students trapped in war-torn Ukraine, the government had to turn to Russia for their safe evacuation.
Despite facing intense pressure from the US to vote against Russia, India once again abstained on a UN General Assembly resolution that deplored Russia’s aggression on Wednesday. It had twice earlier abstained from voting against Russia in the UN Security Council. It is India’s decision to abstain that has facilitated the evacuation of its nationals stranded in Ukraine, according to sources. More than 60 per cent of Indians are now out of Ukraine. And if the evacuation process goes as per plan, then most should be out before the end of this week, sources said.
PM Narendra Modi has had two telephonic exchanges with Russian President Vladimir Putin since February 24, with safe passage to Indians being his main concern, besides de-escalation of the hostilities.In his explanation of vote, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN T S Tirumurthi said, “We demand safe and uninterrupted passage for all Indian nationals, who are stranded in Ukraine, particularly Kharkhiv and other cities. We have reiterated this demand to both the Russian Federation and Ukraine. This remains our foremost priority.”
