UNITED NATIONS: Since the start of Russia-Ukraine conflict, India has consistently urged all parties involved to not shut the door on dialogue and other non-coercive mechanisms for finding peace. In keeping with its stance, India again abstained from voting in the UN General Assembly last week on a draft resolution condemning Russia’s referenda and annexation of four Ukrainian territories. The decision, it said, is “consistent with our well-thought-out national position”
Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, said, “We have consistently advocated that no solution can ever be arrived at the cost of human lives. Escalation of hostilities and violence is in no one’s interest. We have urged that all efforts be made for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an urgent return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.”
India supports peace and advocates in favour of peaceful solutions to conflict and hence cannot support one sided resolution. “The path to peace requires us to keep all channels of diplomacy open. We, therefore, sincerely hope for an early resumption of peace talks to bring about an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the conflict. India stands ready to support all such efforts aimed at de-escalation,” she added. The resolution against Russia, ‘Territorial integrity of Ukraine: Defending the principles of the Charter of the UN’ was adopted on October 12, with 143 nations voting in favour, four against, and 35, including India, abstaining.
Since the start of the RussiaUkraine conflict in February this year, it is the fourth time that India has abstained from voting on UN General Assembly resolution. Foreign policy experts are of the view that India’s abstention should be viewed as a balancing act of maintaining friends and partners on both sides. It as much a revival of principles of non-alignment, as it is BJP led Central Government’s equal alignment strategy. But India’s actions, they say, are also motivated by its relations with Russia, specifically in the context of the UNSC. Since1950s, its predecessor Soviet Union stood by India at the UNSA and vetoed six times on resolutions against India
