IN FOCUS
INDIA-RUSSIA
SUMMIT:
READING
BETWEEN THE
LINES
BY ALEKSEI ZAKHAROV *
T
he 19th bilateral summit between Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin left a
mixed feeling about the current state of the Indo-
Russian relationship and its future prospects. Though a major
and also the most expected deal on the supply of the S-400
Triumf missile system was concluded and several other
agreements aimed at further strengthening the economic
engagement were signed, a number of questions pertaining
to the future trajectory of bilateral ties still remain.
Sanctions as a Common Factor
A few days ahead of the bilateral summit, a Russian media
outlet, Kommersant, reported that the two sides would sign
a “political document” with a clause on unacceptability of
imposition of sanctions not approved by the United Nations. i
However, the word “sanctions” did not even fi gure in the joint
statement and was never once mentioned by the offi cials of the
two countries. By contrast, the Saint Petersburg Declaration,
issued after the previous bilateral summit held in June 2017,
had clearly stated that the two countries “do not accept the
unilateral use of political and economic sanctions as a means
of exerting pressure.” ii At that time, the Countering America's
Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) was yet
to become a legislation. Surprisingly, now that CAATSA
hangs like a Sword of Damocles over Indo-Russian defence
cooperation, Moscow and New Delhi seem to have decided
to downplay the issue of sanctions by omitting any mention
of it in the current joint statement. The idea probably is not to
further irritate Washington. New Delhi is still hopeful about
getting an exemption from CAATSA and that would serve
Russian interests as well. In a way, the issue of sanctions
seems to be bringing Russia and India together.
Defence Deals and Other Agreements
Another calculated decision was the low-key manner
in which offi cials addressed the issue of taking defence
cooperation forward. Interestingly, this track was barely
mentioned during the summit. Reference to defence
cooperation is very short and placed somewhere in the middle
of the joint statement. The two leaders did not elaborate on
the bilateral military partnership. Moreover, the deal on the
S-400 was neither announced by the leaders nor mentioned
in the list of agreements. Apparently, offi cials were seeking to
demonstrate that bilateral ties do not revolve around defence
alone and that it is not the sole sphere of cooperation.
Notwithstanding offi cial intentions, the main deliverable
of the summit was the contract on S-400 SAM supplies to
India. As is seen, the conclusion of the deal is an important
40 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 10 • Oct-Nov 2018, Noida