Roving Periscope: India didn’t vote against Russia at the UN, says MEA
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: India has denied having, for the first time, voted ‘against’ a Russian motion to stop Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky from addressing the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) virtually on Wednesday.
On Thursday, New Delhi clarified it had not voted “against Russia” at the UNSC during a procedural vote on whether to allow President Zelensky virtually during a debate on the Ukrainian situation on August 24, the Independence Day of the war-torn nation.
Russia, which had requested the vote, was against allowing the Ukrainian President to speak via VTC (Video TeleConferencing) and called for him to come in person to New York or let the Ukrainian Ambassador speak during the debate that marked six months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started on February 24.
China abstained from the vote, while India and the remaining 12 members voted in favor of President Zelensky speaking at the debate. The vote was not about Russia or Ukraine but whether to vote for or against Zelensky’s participation.
“My understanding is that we have not voted against anybody. It was a proposal to allow him to speak virtually, and we allowed it. It was the third occasion he spoke virtually (at the UN), and we supported that. So there is no question of us voting against Russia,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
At the UNSC on Wednesday, India’s Permanent Representative Ruchira Kamboj appealed for diplomacy and dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. She said India continues to send humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict and work with other countries to mitigate food and fuel shortages emerging from the ongoing war. Officials downplayed the significance of India’s vote to let Zelensky speak virtually and said New Delhi’s stand on the issue remained unchanged.
India’s vote was viewed as unusual, as New Delhi voted ‘against’ Russia for the first time on the Ukrainian issue. On over a dozen occasions since Russia invaded Ukraine six months ago and called it a “special military operation,” India has abstained from the vote on the Ukrainian issue in the UN General Assembly and the UNSC and refused to support any statement critical of Moscow’s actions.
“Technically, yes, we voted against a Russian preference, but in reality, the question before us was different,” an official said.
The fresh Indian vote came two weeks after EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on August 8 about humanitarian help, including medicines India had dispatched to Ukraine.
Despite Indian aid, Ukraine criticized New Delhi’s decision to increase its Russian oil imports substantially. In a virtual press briefing on August 17, Kuleba said he had hoped for more “practical support” from India.
“When India purchases Russian crude oil (at a discount), they have to understand that the discount has to be paid by Ukrainian blood. Every barrel of Russian crude that India gets has a good portion of Ukrainian blood in it,” Kuleba was reported to have remarked.
But India had no choice. The same day, Dr. Jaishankar defended in Bangkok, New Delhi’s position, saying India’s poor could not afford higher fuel prices. “Every country will try to ensure the best deal it gets to cushion high energy prices, and India is doing the same thing.”
