India’s abstinence from UN Security Council vote on Ukraine was the right decision

The UNSC vote on Ukraine, the US-sponsored resolution against Russia-Belarus, and its veto by Russia was on expected lines. The Indian decision to abstain from the voting was not siding with anyone; it was in its own national interest, though the evacuation of Indian students and nationals from Ukraine has been unduly delayed despite enough warnings. Ironically, India has always been late in evacuating its nationals from war zones, thanks to its sleepy diplomats. Some media write-ups say that India should have sided with the US because with Russia under sanctions, it will be difficult for us to maintain the 70 per cent Russian equipment that our military holds. But the question is why will we not be able to do so? And, should we ‘dump’ the 70 per cent Russian military equipment, suffer ‘Alzheimer’ militarily, because the indigenous industry will take decades to catch up, or go for bulk imports borrowing money and get debt-trapped? **Click here for LIVE updates on the Russia-Ukraine conflict** The US wants to talk to India about its decision but in which war did the US side with India? Remember the US 7th Fleet task force led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise with more than 70 fighter aircraft threatening India from the Bay of Bengal direction in 1971 during the liberation of Bangladesh? Remember the British armada led by the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle and HMS Albion carrying British commandos approaching the Arabian Sea simultaneously to attack India in conjunction with the US? But Russian submarines blocking these advances (on India’s request) made the US and UK task forces turn turtle. The West has never stood with India during its wars but it wants India to risk its own security by interfering in the Russia-Ukraine conflict? Peace is certainly important but so is diplomacy and the rigid US-NATO stance in rejecting every Russian demand has left little scope for diplomacy. In a world that has never supported it, India has to do what is best for India, and that is what India has done. British skullduggery caused the fall of Skardu to Pakistan, created Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), made Pakistan a party to Kashmir and gave Pakistan a border with China it never had, which changed the geopolitics of the subcontinent forever. Today, the same Britain that looted India of $45 trillion and its Queen sporting India’s Kohinoor in her crown, is pleading with India for FTA. And yet, the pub named ‘The Lord Clyde in 1963’ in Kent, UK, adorns the skull of Havaldar Alum Beg, 46th Regiment Bengal Native Infantry killed during the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny? Both the US and UK continue to patronise Pakistan. Recently, two American warships made port calls at Karachi and held joint exercises with the Pakistani navy. But will the US include Pakistan in the Quad or substitute India with Pakistan in the Quad? Zelensky appealing to India help is a perversity of fate after Ukraine has opposed India at every opportunity in the United Nations and sided with and armed Pakistan. Zelensky in his recent address to the nation said, “I asked 27 European leaders today whether Ukraine will become a NATO member… They gave no answer. They replied that… they are with us, but are not ready to make us members of the alliance.” Same would have been the case if Zelensky would have asked for NATO members. Zelensky apparently never realised that compared to Chinese products which are ‘use and throw’, the US uses and throws/dumps countries — Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan are some examples. The only exception is Pakistan which provides proxy boots on grounds and goes about promoting terrorism. [caption id=“attachment_10410621” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. AP[/caption] Does Ukraine realise why it is the poorest country in the region compared to European nations or Russia and Belarus despite being engaged with the US for the past two decades? This is despite Belarus and Russia both having been under sanctions. The explanation is simple — the West exploits nations to further its own national interests. History is replete with examples of this. NATO has advanced its posturing with hundreds of fighter aircraft on standby, more deployments in USS Enterprise and the like. As the battle of Kiev proceeds, NATO knows that to make a difference it will have to intervene directly in the conflict. This will mean full**-**fledged war with President Vladimir Putin having warned that Russia will retaliate against whoever interferes. In such a case, the US President may still keep working on his next list of sanctions but Europe will be devastated.

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Also Read **Russia-Ukraine crisis: Here's what will get more expensive in India if two countries go to war** **The meta-narrative about India’s non-involvement in the Ukraine imbroglio** **If situation deteriorates in Ukraine, India’s defence deals with Russia will face more scrutiny: Harsh V Pant** **Ukraine crisis sinks Indian markets, set to hit bilateral trade with Kyiv** **How Ukraine crisis marks return of Russia as a global geopolitical player** **Vladimir Putin plays Ukraine card well, but will the West bend and accept his demands?** **Why does Russia want Ukraine so badly? Here’s what a geography book tells us** **Ukraine crisis: Taking sides will harm India’s national interests** **Ukraine should realise the folly of NATO tilt and resume talks with Putin’s Russia** **Vladimir Putin draws redline for NATO: No eastward expansion towards Ukraine** **How Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine stunt stuns Germany and disrupts its economic dreams** **Why vested interests are hell-bent on dragging India into a distant conflict in Ukraine** **Ukraine crisis: How confrontation between Putin’s Russia and Biden-led West will impact India’s foreign relations**

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Henry Kissinger, who along with Richard Nixon created the Chinese Frankenstein, wrote an article in the Washington Post on 6 March 2014, saying: “For the West, the demonising of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is also an alibi for the absence of one.” But the fact remains that the Western demon has been running amok around the world for decades and Ukraine in a manner is a defining moment. Ironically, instead of taking Putin’s security concerns seriously, his demonisation will continue. No doubt the civilian casualties are heart-rending but those sympathising with the West should, for starters’ visit the war museums and the Sochi Tunnels in Vietnam to experience what the Americans did to that country. When will Kiev fall is anybody’s guess but a West-sponsored insurgency will definitely follow. This will create problems for Russia in Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) but will also destabilise Ukraine, leaving Ukrainians wondering why they aligned with the West in the first place? The destabilising game is what the US has played all along because conflicts and wars boost its arms industry and in turn the US economy. The author is a veteran of the Indian Army. Views expressed are personal.

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