Why Russia Stayed Neutral During India-Pakistan Conflict? Defence Expert Weighs In

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Russia, traditionally a close ally of India, chose not to openly support the nation during the recent India-Pakistan conflict. International scholar and Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Dr Satish Dhage has cited possible reasons behind Russia's neutral stance all this while.

According to the defence expert, Russia's growing ties with China and Pakistan, India's arms trade dynamics with Russia, and its neutral stance on Russia-Ukraine war could be the contributing factors.

"There are many reasons why Russia may not have directly supported the war, one being the advice by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to both Russia and Ukraine to exercise restraint during the war and resolve the conflict through dialogue. That message from PM Modi may have influenced Russia's approach which is why it chose not to side with India," he noted.

Meanwhile, the United States presented its stance on the conflict that broke out between India and Pakistan, while Turkey and China openly supported Pakistan. However, Russia, India's long-time ally, did not extend any direct support to India. Instead, it advised both the nuclear-armed nations to find a resolution through dialogue. Russia's neutral stance has now raised question on whether its ties with India has weakened?

However, Dr Satish Dhage argued that there is a reason behind Russia's neutral position. "In the recent years, Russia has made some agreements with China and Pakistan, which have strengthened relations between them. On the other hand, since India already purchases weapons from Russia and shares strong economic ties, extending open support to India might have harmed Russia's relations with the other two nations. Therefore, to maintain a balanced relation with all three, Russia only took a stand against terrorism, while avoiding talking openly about supporting India," explained Lt Col (Retd) Dr Dhage.

He further went on to say, "India has been purchasing weapons from Russia for a long time, sharing close trade ties. However, after 2014, PM Modi signed agreements to purchase weapons from France and the US too. Russia may have taken note that its share in India's defense trade has decreased over the years."

"This apart, when the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out three years ago, President Putin might have been expecting PM Modi to offer open support to Russia as a friend, which did not happen. All these factors may have contributed to Russia's changing stance, where it prioritised trade pacts over symbolic friendship," he stated.

Dhage highlighted that while some of the decisions India took seemed right at that time, they didn't turn out to be beneficial in the long run.