The Indian establishment media hyped up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 24 in a desperate attempt to distract attention from Delhi’s abject isolation over the Afghanistan situation.
The desperation to clutch at any straw stems out of the complete breakdown of India’s Afghan policy. The government’s narrative on Afghanistan stands exposed as deeply flawed.
Putin has acceded to Modi’s request for establishing “a two-way channel for permanent consultations” on the Afghan issue. Russia has always been open to such cooperation with India but Modi government prioritised India’s partnership with the US.
The spin doctors in Delhi have planted a story in the media that Putin will accord recognition to a Taliban government only in tandem with Modi. Putin also agreed, apparently, with Modi’s assessment that Pakistan will exploit the Taliban’s ascendance in Kabul to fuel terrorism in the region. […]
Moscow takes a ‘de-hyphenated’ approach toward relations with India and Pakistan. In the Russian calculus, Pakistan figures as a serious partner with the potential to help advance some of Russia’s core interests in the Eurasian region in a way that India never can or will, given its quasi-alliance with the US. This is one thing. Läs artikel