Neither China Nor The US Has Any Influence Over The Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership

Just like India doesn’t want to become dependent on the US by dumping Russia, Russia also doesn’t want to become dependent on China by dumping India, both scenarios of which could lead to the bifurcation of International Relations between China and the US if they become their junior partners. The traditional military and newfound energy ties that characterize the Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership guarantee that neither considers surrendering their sovereignty to either superpower.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US this week has prompted speculation among some that the Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership might suffer just like how President Xi’s trip to Moscow in March sparked similar rumors. There’s no truth to either political fantasy as confirmed by the latest interview that Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov just gave to The Hindustan Times, the original version of which can be read here on the Russian Embassy in Delhi’s official website.

He began by praising the resilience of the Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership just like External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had earlier done. Ambassador Alipov also added that India’s vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (“The World Is One Family”) resembles the same principle that Russia sought to advance with Europe regarding the creation of a common and equal security architecture. This reinforces the observation that these Great Powers have complementary grand strategic goals.

The astronomical expansion of their energy ties over the past 16 month was predictably touched upon as evidence that they’re working to diversify their economic relations, though more must be done in this direction. To that end, Ambassador Alipov informed everyone that Russia is keen to launch free trade talks between the Eurasian Economic Union and India as soon as possible on top of increasing the capacity of the North-South Transport Corridor between them via Iran.

When asked about Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remark last month about their country’s enormous rupee stockpile, he said that progress is being made on streamlining financial cooperation. Ambassador Alipov also downplayed reports about delays in Russia’s export of military-technical items to India, promising that all contracts will be fulfilled since the two have always cooperated in good faith. These policy statements should put to rest malicious speculation about problems between them.

Russia and India are closely coordinating their efforts to accelerate financial multipolarity processes, he said, which shows the relevance of their strategic partnership for the rest of the world in this new era. These efforts and other mutually beneficial forms of cooperation aren’t at risk of being complicated by their respective ties with China or the US, Russia’s top diplomat in India said, since their two Great Powers aren’t influenced by either of those countries due to their balanced and truly sovereign policies.

Ambassador Alipov then challenged those who think otherwise to play a role in further strengthening the economic dimension of their strategic partnership, especially those Indians who claim that Russia is becoming dependent on China, which aligns with what he’d earlier said regarding the need to diversify such ties even more. He then concluded the interview by praising India’s understanding of the Russian-NATO proxy war in Ukraine and encouraging it to convince Kiev to return to peace talks.  

After going through the interview, no honest observer can claim that any third party exerts sway over the Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership. Neither the first’s closeness with China nor the second’s with the US has led to a weakening of their ties in spite of Beijing being Delhi’s rival and Washington being Moscow’s. Each strategically partnered Great Power relies on the other to maintain their multi-alignment policy, which is something that many Westerners struggle to understand.

They falsely claim that the military dimension of their ties limits India’s freedom to criticize Russia’s special operation, but this fails to account for the importance that Delhi places on preserving its hard-earned strategic autonomy. Likewise, some voices in the Alt-Media Community falsely claim that the newfound energy dimension of their ties limits Russia’s freedom to criticize India for its border dispute with China, but this also doesn’t account for Moscow’s prioritization of its own strategic autonomy.

Just like India doesn’t want to become dependent on the US by dumping Russia, Russia also doesn’t want to become dependent on China by dumping India, both scenarios of which could lead to the bifurcation of International Relations between China and the US if they become their junior partners. The traditional military and newfound energy ties that characterize the Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership guarantee that neither considers surrendering their sovereignty to either superpower.

The perspective shared in the preceding three paragraphs is Neo-Realist to the core, which is something that many observers haven’t notice due to their ideological biases. This approach to International Relations is the basis upon which every dimension of their strategic partnership is built since it’s all aimed at advancing their interests in the anarchic world order. Amidst the growing uncertainty associated with the global systemic transition, their ties serve as an anchor of stability in Eurasia.

Russia and India envisage their strategic partnership eventually inspiring others in the supercontinent to emulate their Neo-Realist approach, which could lead to a revolution in International Relations with time that results in every country prioritizing their own interests like they already do. These two Great Powers successfully liberated themselves from the pernicious influence that the West’s liberal-globalist ideology earlier exerted over their leaderships to a degree, but many states still have a long way to go.

While it’s impressive that only 38 countries joined the US in arming Kiev and/or sanctioning Russia, which proves that International Relations have entered the post-unipolar phase, true multipolarity has yet to fully take shape owing to the lingering influence of liberal-globalism over the Global South. Many of these developing countries are still shackled to the outdated Western-centric world order, but from which they too can liberate themselves by more confidently multi-aligning between their partners.

It's no longer enough to balance between the American and Chinese superpowers since that could place them in the position where they’re pressured to make zero-sum choices, hence the urgent need to diversify their foreign policy through the cultivation of equally strategic ties with others like Russia and India. Those aforementioned Great Powers help each other maintain their multi-alignment policy, which in turn prevents them from becoming disproportionately dependent on either superpower.

This Neo-Realist approach to International Relations has to be emulated across the Global South in order for the global systemic transition to move beyond its present post-unipolar phase towards a more truly multipolar one. The Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership shows the whole world that multi-alignment isn’t a slogan but a successful foreign policy model that reaps tangible dividends for those who practice it, which can lead to countless countries adapting it in the coming future once they finally realize this.