According to Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov, the current Ukrainian crisis will have global ramifications, including for Russia-India relations, and the magnitude of such consequences cannot be predicted at this time.
At the same time, he believes that India may take advantage of the situation to strengthen commercial connections with Russia, as Moscow’s Western allies have refused to work with it.
The Russian envoy stated that the current scenario has created a “window of opportunity” for Indian enterprises to increase their presence in Russia, and that India should examine economic cooperation with Russia more closely.
The ambassador’s statements were captured on camera by the Russian embassy and shared on Twitter.
This issue will affect the entire world, especially relations between Russia and India. “No one can say how much it will be reflected,” Alipov added.
He added there is a bilateral system for reciprocal settlement of transactions in national currencies, referring to the likely impact of Western sanctions on India-Russia relations.
According to the ambassador, widespread usage of the mechanism will assist to mitigate the sanctions’ impact.
“It makes sense for the Indians to take advantage of the situation where many Western partners refuse to cooperate with us and aggressively access the Russian market,” he explained.
“For Indian companies, this is a golden chance. India could also look at cooperating with Russia more closely “According to Alipov,
India’s “independent” foreign policy was also lauded by the envoy.
He said, “We have consistently indicated that we welcome India’s autonomous foreign policy and the strengthening of its position and influence in the international arena.”
India has voted no on UN resolutions criticising Russia for its military intervention in Ukraine.
“We never apply any pressure or impose any limits on her (India), as you are aware. Indians in the United States are currently facing a great deal of hardship “Alipov added something to the conversation.
Concerning the evacuation of stranded Indians from combat zones in Ukraine, the Russian envoy stated that his government had done all possible to get them out of Kharkiv, Sumy, and Pisochyn in eastern Ukraine.
According to Alipov, over 3,000 Indians are trapped in Kharkiv, nearly 900 in Pisochyn, and 670 in Sumy.
Bagchi stated that India is concentrating its efforts on evacuating roughly 700 Indian students from Sumy, a city in eastern Ukraine around 60 kilometres from the Russian border.
“The hitch, though, is that the battle in these areas is still going on, and our forces aren’t present where the Indians are.” It is impossible to obtain them. “We need to meet somewhere that isn’t being attacked by Ukraine,” Alipov said.
He said that the Russians do not have access to these locations and that fighting with Ukrainian troops is ongoing.
Russia, according to the envoy, has hundreds of buses ready to convey the stranded Indians around its borders.
He responded, “Our buses are waiting and will wait as long as it takes.”
