More than a month after the invasion of Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visits the Indian capital New Delhi.

It is the Foreign Minister's first trip to India since the beginning of the war.

Shortly before that he was in China, which once again sided with Moscow.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government does not go that far.

She called for dialogue and a ceasefire, but refrained from condemning Russia.

New Delhi abstained from passing UN resolutions critical of Russia.

India received praise for this from Moscow.

US President Joe Biden, on the other hand, described India's stance as "a bit shaky" compared to other partners.

Till Fähnders

Political correspondent for Southeast Asia.

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Lavrov wants to counter the impression that Russia is "isolated" internationally and prevent India from taking a clearer stance.

Meanwhile, the United States and its Western allies are putting pressure on Delhi, primarily to buy cheaper Russian oil.

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg, that the US felt "deep disappointment" with the arrangement.

The EU's special envoy to the Indo-Pacific also said recently that they were "not pleased" with the Indian stance.

However, the large number of meetings, virtual conferences and visits with which both sides are currently approaching India shows that India is far from being isolated in foreign policy.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was also due to arrive in India on Thursday,

on the same day as Lavrov.

It was unclear whether they would meet there.

After his last meeting with Truss, Lavrov said it was "like a deaf man speaking to a mute man."

New Delhi perceives Western views with dismay

Joe Biden's Deputy Security Advisor for Economic Affairs, Daleep Singh, of Indian origin, was in New Delhi on Wednesday, as was Chancellor Olaf Scholz's foreign and security policy advisor, Jens Plötner.

The German was received in New Delhi by the foreign minister, foreign secretary and national security adviser.

During a briefing with the Indian press, he too wished for a clearer stance from India.

Germany would like to see India "in the same camp" as its western allies.

However, it recognizes that India has its own "challenges and limitations" due to a "complicated neighborhood".

Plötner also criticized the oil business without naming India directly.

"We hope for a situation in which the sanctions that we have imposed

According to Reuters, India has already bought 13 million barrels of oil since the war began on February 24, almost as much as in all of 2021. The Indo-Russian negotiations are also about how this oil can be paid for despite the sanctions.

Apparently, there are various models for this, including the possibility of a mechanism for settling direct ruble-rupee trades.

According to Reuters, Washington has no objection as long as India does not violate sanctions.

However, an anonymous American official warned of "great risks" if India sharply increased its oil imports from Russia.

The critical gaze with which the West is pursuing India's restraint is viewed with dismay in New Delhi.

According to former diplomat Nirupama Menon Rao, the impression of attempted interference made the Indians react defensively.

Maintaining strategic autonomy and defending national interests is also supported by the populace outside of political circles.

"Our relations with the West are important to us, but pressure that we find inappropriate does not work," she wrote on Twitter.

India has created a “distinct diplomatic space” and carefully “calibrated” its position between Russia and the West, wrote The Indian Express newspaper.

Although New Delhi has not condemned Russia, it has made it clear to the West through diplomacy that it is not an "ally" of Russia.

A few voices see this course as too short-sighted.

India should prepare for a break with Russia sooner or later, writes political scientist Harsh V. Pant.

Strategically, the focus is on China, which is in an ongoing border dispute with India in the Himalayas.

As India draws closer to the West, Moscow's ties with Beijing are becoming ever closer.

Dependence on Russian armaments is not sustainable.