National Security Adviser Ajit Doval received a briefing from his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev about the aborted coup by the Wagner Group, a mercenary army that went on a rampage last week against Moscow under its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former ally of President Vladimir Putin.
While no information was shared by the Indian government about the phone conversation, a brief Russian statement said Patrushev spoke to Doval about the ‘latest developments’. According to diplomatic sources, Patrushev stressed the situation in Russia was now under control and there was no threat to Putin.
‘The current issues of Russia-India cooperation in the field of security and the prospects for their deepening within the framework of bilateral and multilateral formats were discussed in detail. In addition, Patrushev informed Doval about the latest events in Russia. The interlocutors agreed to continue a confidential (sic) dialogue,’ said the Russian readout.
The Russian president is expected to participate in the SCO summit that will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4 virtually and will also see in attendance Chinese President Xi Jinping. Calling Modi a great friend of Russia, Putin Thursday praised India’s Make in India initiative and its ‘visible effect’ on the Indian economy.
Putin is also likely to visit India in September for the G20 summit where India is hoping differences over Ukraine won’t scuttle a proposed joint communique that the government wants to be focused on addressing the needs of the developing world.
The Indian government and leaders have so far avoided making any statement on the alleged bid to overthrow the Russian defence establishment that saw Prigozhin and his forces marching unchecked on Moscow for hours on June 24 before finally retreating to Belarus. Doval is known to share a great personal rapport with Patrushev and the two have met frequently in the past to share their respective positions on security-related issues, notably Afghanistan.
India’s economic ties with Russia have grown by leaps and bounds since the Ukraine war, riding the crest of unprecedented oil imports, even though the government remains apprehensive about Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine. Without condemning Russia, the government has given voice to its concerns by repeatedly underscoring, from various international fora, the need to respect the UN Charter and sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States and by citing Modi’s oft-quoted remark to Putin that ‘this isn’t the era of war’.
The overall relationship, however, as Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday, has held steady despite all the turbulence in the world. Calling it a unique relationship, the minister said that while the ties had been dumbed down to arm imports, it was actually much more complex than that.
‘There’s a geopolitical logic for what we have been doing with Russia,’ said Jaishankar, adding there was an upswing in economic ties.
