New Delhi: After Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, civilians in Ukraine piled into trains and cars to flee. Ukraine's government said Russian tanks and troops rolled across the border in a “full-scale war” that could rewrite the geopolitical order and whose fallout already reverberated around the world.
At this juncture, ETV Bharat spoke to Rajiv Bhatia, former Ambassador to Myanmar, Mexico, South Africa, and Kenya, about India's stand on the situation, Indo-Russia relations, and western media.
Talking about India's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rajiv Bhatia said India has responded diplomatically, as expected. He said, "New Delhi's response is along the expected lines. Basically, there is a multi-layered question of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine. And then the larger issue of European Security involving Russia and NATO which of course includes the US. So essentially when countries are caught up in a situation where there is a danger of military conflict, India always traditionally takes the line that diplomacy is the way out".
Slamming the Western media for allegations that India's response to the escalation reflects the country's tilt towards Russia, Rajiv said Western Media, America in particular, is always biased when it comes to Indo-Russian relations. He further added that "they do not understand the reality of the relationship, the driving impulses behind it and therefore I think, we should rather ignore this biased perspective of Western Media".
