Have old ties with Russia, free to choose allies: India to US

New Delhi, July 25

A day after a top US official, briefing the US Congress, expressed ‘disappointment’ at the timing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia, the Ministry of External Affairs today retorted, saying that India had a longstanding relationship with Moscow and every country had freedom of choice in a multipolar world.

Multipolar world

In a multipolar world, all countries have the freedom of choice. It is essential for everybody to be mindful of and appreciate such realities. Randhir Jaiswal, MEA Spokesperson

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “India has a long-standing relationship with Russia that is based on mutuality of interests. In a multipolar world, all countries have the freedom of choice. It is essential for everybody to be mindful of and appreciate such realities.”

Yesterday, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs in the US, Donald Lu, had expressed “disappointment” over the timing of PM Modi’s visit to Russia and said Washington was holding “tough conversations” with New Delhi on these concerns.

PM Modi, on an official visit to Moscow (July 8-9) recently, had met Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lu’s remarks were not the first sign of irritation at India-Russia ties. US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, had on July 11 warned to “not take the relationship for granted” and went on to say that “there is no such thing as strategic autonomy”.

Reacting to this, the MEA had said India valued its strategic autonomy and had its own views. It also stated that the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the two nations gave them the space “to agree to disagree” on certain issues, while respecting each other’s viewpoints.