Russia Jubilant As India, China Solve Their Differences After XI – Modi Meeting
Indian PM Narendra Modi announced the “beginning of a new era” in relations between India and China (following President Xi Jinping’s visit to India) could be great news for Russia
This rapprochement between India and China is drastically changing the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, opening up new opportunities for Russian diplomacy, Kommersant wrote.
According to diplomats and experts, now Moscow would not have to constantly make a difficult choice between two strategic partners i.e. India and China, and the Moscow-Beijing-Delhi alignment could become a determining factor in global politics.
Indian Ambassador to Moscow D. Bala Venkatesh Varma told Kommersant that the second informal meeting between the leaders of India and China was another example of India’s strong relations with leading world powers. The meeting will have a positive impact on relations within the Moscow-Beijing-Delhi trio and as far as interaction among the three countries within BRICS goes, the diplomat added.
The meeting “was held in a situation where long-standing nuisances in their relations, such as the border dispute and the Kashmir problem, are losing their previous urgency and new factors are surfacing. Militarily and economically, India is becoming an increasing power with influence extending beyond the Indian Ocean.
In this regard, the old territorial disagreements are fading given the new need to find opportunities for coexistence in the large Indo-Pacific marine space”, Head of the Centre for Asia Pacific Studies at IMEMO RAS Alexander Lomanov told Kommersant.
“This is an encouraging trend for Russia because now Moscow will not have to make a difficult choice between its two strategic partners – China and India. Levelling out the contradictions between the two partners of the Moscow – Beijing – Delhi triangle will make it a more efficient and capable structure, though, in the long run, the emerging rapprochement between China and India may reduce the role of Moscow,” the expert noted.’
