Russia’s nebulous public position on its growing ties with Pakistan continues to give sleepless nights to Indian policymakers who have sought to isolate Islamabad on the issue of terrorism, Times of India reported Monday.
Moscow has not just declared strong support for the China-funded project but also announced its intention to link its own Eurasian Economic Union project with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
CPEC, which will link Gwadar in Pakistan’s Balochistan province to Xinjiang in China, remains a major bugbear for Indian foreign policy as it passes through the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Beijing has shown scant regard for India’s concerns despite PM Narendra Modi himself having taken up the issue of Chinese involvement in the disputed territory with President Xi Jinping.
Moscow last month emphatically denied Pakistan media reports that it was looking to involve itself in CPEC by acquiring access to the port built by China at Gwadar. Russia’s Ambassador to Pakistan Alexey Y Dedov has now been quoted as saying that Russia and Pakistan have held discussions to merge Moscow’s Eurasian Economic Union project with the CPEC.
Dedov said Russia “strongly” supported CPEC as it was important for Pakistan’s economy and also regional connectivity.
The mixed signals emanating from Moscow, as strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney said, are injecting uncertainty in the direction of the Russia-India relationship whose trajectory long epitomized constancy and stability.
“It is as if Moscow no longer sees India as a reliable friend or partner. Indeed, by seeking common cause with India’s regional adversaries, including by supporting the CPEC and engaging with the Pakistan-backed Taliban, Russia is challenging India’s core interests,” said Chellaney.
India continues to officially maintain that it doesn’t see any “downward trend” in relations with Russia even as it works behind the scenes to convince Moscow that Pakistan remained the fountainhead of terrorism in the region. For India, though, Russia further queered the situation in Afghanistan by declaring that it regarded Afghan Taliban as a national military-political movement. Russia is looking to engage the Taliban apparently to defeat IS but, as the MEA spokesperson warned last week, India wants any engagement with Taliban to respect the internationally recognised red lines, including giving up violence and severing ties with al-Qaida.
