New Delhi: Russia's Charge D' Affaires in India, Roman Babushkin on Wednesday told ETV Bharat that the crisis is not between Russia and Ukraine, it is a crisis between Russia and the West, which is using Ukraine as an "arm" against Russia.
In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Babushkin said, "From the beginning, India has a clear understanding of the origin of the crisis. This crisis is not between Russia and Ukraine, it is a crisis between Russia and the West, which is using Ukraine as an 'arm' against Russia."
"The conditions which the Russian President (Vladimir Putin) put forward on 14 June were that 'we want to stop the conflict once and for all but important conditions have to be followed- firstly, withdrawal of the Ukrainian troops from the Russian regions, recognition of the area which is on the ground, Ukraine should be the neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear state and it should dismantle Neo-Nazi state policy infrastructure'. It is all about security concerns which deteriorated by the continuous NATO expansion, by the dismissal of all the Russian peace proposals including the security guarantee in 2021," Babushkin said.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has pledged to support NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) to defend Ukraine against Russian President Vladimir Putin's war of aggression.
This comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his visit to Russia. When asked about the West being irked by the visit of PM Modi to Moscow, especially at a time of geopolitical uncertainty, the Russian Charge D' Affaires said, "The West is dissatisfied given the fact that the two global independent powers are meeting and exceeding their sovereignty, which is concurrent of great value, especially in the context of global uncertainties."
"Multipolarity is a matter of fact and it is something that the US and others do not like. They promote a unipolar world, in the sense they conducted the NATO summit not for peace but the main idea is how to supply more weapons to Ukraine and defeat Russia. They don't care about peace to prevail in Ukraine. This is a crisis of identity for NATO. They need some targets otherwise they are unable to mobilise their supporters," added Babushkin.
Leaders of the 32 NATO members and five partner countries - Australia, New Zealand, Ukraine, South Korea and Japan are participating in the NATO summit in Washington to commemorate the setting up of the military alliance on April 4, 1949.
Commenting on India's role in resolving the Ukraine conflict, Babushkin said, "India plays an important role as the country is listening to both sides. India has a very good understanding of the nature and origin of the conflict. That's why we highly appreciate India's position".
Further, the Russian Charge D' Affaires refuted the comment made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on PM Modi's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Babushkin said, "The statement comes against the backdrop of the missile attack against the children's hospital in Ukraine. They usually put all the blame on Russia and present one side of the situation. However, it was not a Russian missile but a Ukrainian anti-missile provided by Norway. While we were targeting the military infrastructure, the Ukrainian anti-missile just lost the course. Another aspect is that they are deploying this infrastructure in populated areas in violation of international humanitarian law...Zelenskyy is the president of war. He keeps getting support from the West".
Prime Minister Modi has just concluded his visit to Moscow, which Babushkin calls a "groundbreaking visit" not in terms of several agreements signed but for the number of messages sent out to the world.
"Despite many attempts to derail our legitimate cooperation, we will continue. Multipolarity is a matter of fact since both leaders have implemented the full right to independent foreign policy and sovereignty", he added.
PM Modi's visit to Moscow has irked the West and the Ukrainian President. In a post on X, Ukrainian Prez Zelensky, in a strongly worded statement, hit out at PM Modi for meeting Russian President Putin.
He said, "In Ukraine today, 37 people were killed, three of whom were children, and 170 were injured, including 13 children, as a result of Russia's brutal missile strike. A Russian missile struck the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble. It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day".
