India keen to strengthen partnership with Russia on Arctic

New Delhi: Due to the Ukraine conflict, the US was upset with the oil trade between India and Russia. There has been a consistent effort by the US to disturb this arrangement. To prevent Russia from getting revenues from its oil exports, the US and other Western countries are now preparing to put a price cap on Russian oil. This will not allow any country to buy Russian oil at a higher price than what is set by the US. The US has claimed that this move will benefit India and China.

While the US is busy planning such a gambit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressed a plenary session at the Eastern Economic Forum organised in the Russian city of Vladivostok, expressing India’s keen interest in strengthening its partnership with Russia for oil exploration opportunities in the Arctic region.

To enhance India- Russia trade partnership, projects like International North-South Corridor, Chennai- Vladivostok maritime corridor and the Northern Sea route are under implementation. Prime Minister Modi said that these projects will facilitate better connectivity and are going to be immensely important for the growth of the two countries. Prime Minister Modi reminded that India was early to identify the potential of the far eastern region of Russia, which was ignored for many years. Hence, India was the first country to open an embassy in Vladivostok about 30 years back.

For the development of the far east region, the Eastern Economic Forum was established in 2015. Subsequently, India adopted an Act Far East policy in 2019, which has been the base for enhancing the strategic partnership with Russia. Prime Minister Modi said that India has invested in the far east region of Russia in areas of oil exploration, pharma, and diamonds. Prime Minister Modi expressed India’s keen interest in working with Russia on the Arctic issues. This is seen as a reply by Prime Minister Modi to Western countries who have been critical of India for partnering with Russia even after the Ukraine conflict.

Prime Minister Modi expressed and re-emphasised India’s views on the ongoing Russia- Ukraine situation, which should be resolved by diplomacy and dialogue. India is committed to supporting all peaceful efforts to end the conflict. Prime Minister Modi welcomed the consensus between Russia and Ukraine to supply food grains and fertilisers. Prime Minister Modi also expressed concern about the global supply chain disruption due to the ongoing conflict, adversely impacting developing countries.

Meanwhile, the US is preparing to target Russian oil exports by putting a price cap on Russian oil. This would mean that countries like India and China would not be able to buy Russian oil at a higher price than what will be decided by the US. If this is violated, there will be a risk of facing US sanctions. The US has claimed that the price cap will benefit India and China. However, the new ploy against Russia would be unsuccessful, as per some US media sections. By participating in the Eastern Economic Forum, Prime Minister Modi has given a strong message that India will maintain its sovereign and balanced foreign policy.