Russia-Ukraine conflict: EU politicians hope India can push for democratic values

London, Mar 29: Some European Union (EU) politicians on Tuesday expressed the hope that India may be able to use its soft power to influence Russian President Vladimir Putin to choose the path of negotiations in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

At a virtual panel discussion organised by Dutch think tank Stichting The London Story, Jakop Dalunde from Sweden and Margrete Auken from Denmark, both members of the Green/European Free Alliance in the European Parliament, were joined by former Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran for a discussion entitled 'India’s Stance on Ukraine: Caught between EU and Russian Interests'.

"The conflict is one that can be seen as one between democracy and a rules-based order on the one hand and autocracy and imperialism on the other," said Jakop Dalunde, a member of the European Parliament's Delegation for relations with India.

"India in its pursuit of development through democracy and human rights will benefit from Putin failing... The hope is that the EU can use its soft power to make India’s leaning towards democracy easier and India can use its soft power to convince Putin that a move towards the negotiating table is the best course of action," he said.

While Margrete Auken highlighted the need for India to "live up to democratic values, internally and externally", former French diplomat and researcher at Sciences Po in Paris Jasmine Zerinini focussed on how security cooperation has become more relevant to EU-India relations in recent years.

"There are many compromises which are made with regard to international relations; therefore pointing fingers at various countries is not very helpful,” noted Ambassador Saran.

Responding to a question about India’s import of Russian oil against the backdrop of western sanctions on Putin's regime, Saran said: "India’s import of oil from Russia is a mere USD 1 billion.

The only reason why there is a news report that India may be considering buying more oil is because Russians are offering discounts for the oil they are selling.

"In terms of whether India’s oil imports make the west unhappy; well you have Germany which despite the war is still importing gas from Russia through Ukraine… so I’m not very sure what is the basis on which there is this focus on a very minor kind of relationship that we have on the energy side."

The former career diplomat highlighted the need to acknowledge the globalised nature of the world economy and also pointed to recent high-level visits to the country as a sign that India can play a positive role. "India is an important player and perhaps in dialogue with India there can be a certain solution fostered,” he added.

Alena Kahle, Stichting The London Story’s advocacy officer who organised the panel as a parliamentary briefing event, said that given that the EU and India are seeking closer cooperation, including on the military front, members of the European Parliament are seeking answers.

"The EU and India assert that their collaboration is built on the joint promotion of a rules-based global order – a claim that is faltering in light of India’s abstention on UN votes condemning Russia, and its choice of watered-down wording,” said Kahle.

The EU countries are among those who have called upon India to more openly condemn Russian action in Ukraine. India has chosen to abstain on resolutions related to the conflict at the United Nations (UN), calling for an end to violence and reaffirming its commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, to international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states.