Russia offers Arctic access to India; bilateral reset on anvil
Photo credit Twitter Quark Expeditions
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, November 7: India is back in the game for the Arctic Circle, which holds about 25 per cent of the world’s oil and gas reserves, besides about 20 per cent of the natural resources. When Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, collaborations between India and Russia in the Arctic Shelf would be on the agenda.
Russia currently monopolises the access of the Arctic Circle, and China has been making a determined bid to gain access to the goldmine of the energy resources. Russia has also offered to collaborate India in the Russian Far East, which again is energy rich region. The Climate Change is affecting the glaciers in the Arctic Circle, with experts claiming that the energy resources would become more amenable for exploitations.
Jaishankar’s visit to Russia is being keenly watched, for he is in Moscow at a time when the western world wants an early end to the Ukraine War. With Russian President Vladimir Putin praising India twice last week – for pursuing independent foreign policy and also the Indian talents, the diplomatic circle is hopeful that Jaishankar’s visit may not be a normal bilateral visit.
Incidentally, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had rushed to Beijing to fete Chinses President Xi Jinping for taking the third term as the general secretary of the Communist Party that would give him another five years long tenure as the head of the country in March next year, with the main takeaway of the bilateral being their joint call for an early end to the Ukrainian War. China had issued a strong remark against Russia over the purported nuclear threat by Moscow against Ukraine.
By spelling out cooperation in Arctic Shelf, Far East, besides the Indo Pacific region, Russia is seemingly offering India a bouquet of strategic gains, which may elevate stocks of New Delhi above Beijing. The diplomatic circles in New Delhi concur that Moscow would be watchful of Xi’s third term, as Russia would seek to avoid a situation where China could dictate terms.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi carving out an independent space in the global order for his perseverance with the national interests and not taking sides in the polarised world, Russia could also be hoping that India would find a way out where Moscow can announce a ceasefire with prestige intact since Ukraine is currently in a hot pursuit with the weaponry supplied by the NATO nations.
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