India did right thing by not taking sides in Russia-Ukraine conflict: Envoy Denis Alipov

The envoy's statement comes as the Russian war on Ukraine enters the fourth year.

As US President Donald Trump steps up efforts to bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to an end, Denis Alipov, the Ambassador of Russia to India, in an exclusive interview with CNN-News 18, hailed India's role in the ongoing conflict. India has done the “right thing” by not taking sides in the ongoing conflict, remarked Alipov.

The envoy's statement comes as the Russian war on Ukraine enters the fourth year and a clear reversal in the US policy of supporting Ukraine by aligning the United States with Russia. The Russian envoy went on to add that Moscow is open to any peace proposal mediated by India. However, he categorically stated that peace will only prevail if issues of mutual concerns are addressed with both sides finding a common ground.

As for the Indian approach to the conflict, Alipov said “India has shown positive approach towards war called for dialogue and diplomacy”. In the West, New Delhi has been criticised for not condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and continuing to buy cheap Russian oil. However, India has maintained it supports dialogue and diplomacy over battles. In a famous exchange, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2022 told Putin publicly that “this is not an era of war” and there were reports last year that India was engaged in some sort of a broader peace process.

Repeating the longstanding position of Moscow, which has now been adopted by the Trump administration as well as part of the realignment, Alipov said that the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) is the root cause of the conflict.

For several years, Moscow has maintained that eastern European countries joining Nato puts Russia in danger. In 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited it as one of the reasons for invading Ukraine. The purpose of the invasion was to topple the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and instal a puppet government like there is one in Belarus.

As for the relationship with the United States, Alipov said that there needs to be a dialogue between the two sides. He added that the two sides are “very cautious” with their engagement.

“This process would be very cautious on both ends, not be very quick. But it is a positive development on the part of Trump administration. It is prepared to sit and talk on the basis of mutual respect, talk about solutions beneficial to both ways. We need to first reestablish direct contact between Russia and US. We see operations of embassies in both countries. In the course we will focus on peaceful solution,” said Alipov.