In an exclusive interview with Oneindia News, CCEIS Associate Professor Olga Kharina analyzed India's expanding geopolitical influence, particularly highlighting its significant role at the BRICS Summit in Kazan. She discussed how India has strategically positioned itself on the global stage in recent years, leveraging its diplomatic, economic, and strategic capabilities to enhance its international standing. The interview provided insights into India's evolving role in global politics.
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#BRICS #PutinModi #Indianews #Modi #India #BRICS #IndiaChina #Biden #Worldnews #BRICS2024 #Oneindia #Oneindianews
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00:00Hello and welcome to this yet another brand new episode on One India. There are so many
00:06layers within layers which we need to understand, we need to decode in order to understand. Today
00:12we are joined by Olga Kharina, Associate Professor, Research Fellow of World Economy
00:16and International Affairs, Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies, all the way
00:22from Russian capital, Moscow. Olga, welcome to One India.
00:26Hello, nice to meet you.
00:28Same here, Olga. Olga, we just saw the BRICS summit culminating in Russia. In the evolving
00:36landscape of BRICS, how has India's strategic role in balancing relationships with major
00:43global powers like China and Russia, while maintaining strong Western allies, influence
00:51global diplomacy and economic stability?
00:54I think India always stands for the multipolar world. India has a very clear and understandable
01:09position, which is very close to its national interests. For example, if we speak about
01:17relations even with Russia, even if we speak about the Western world, if we speak about
01:24BRICS countries, we can see some common interests, even if we speak about economy, even if we
01:33speak about some innovations, even if we speak about, of course, trade, even if we speak
01:41about some connections, if we concern some, for example, cultural traditions and promoting
01:49its cultural traditions. And of course, India's role is very high in this group. Even if we
01:58just discuss the criteria of joining BRICS, if we speak about enlargement, as far as I
02:06know, India wants to make some clear criteria for enlargement to understand who will join
02:16the group of BRICS countries. If we speak about some economic and trade things, we can just say
02:28that India wants some kind of platform for discussing some economic issues, for resolving
02:37them. As far as I know, one of the questions of the BRICS summit in Kazan was the platform for
02:47trade. As far as I know, the name of this platform was BRICS for all BRICS countries.
02:58If we speak about trade and if we speak about some connections when we just know about our own
03:09currency and just sharing this trade position and so on. But of course, even if we speak
03:18about BRICS, India also has some tough relations with China. If we speak about some previous
03:28issues between the two countries. But anyway, I strongly believe that the future of the
03:37multipolar world and the world connections and of course, the future of some global south stands by
03:47India and China also. Even if we remember the words of the Minister of International Affairs,
04:00Mr. Primakov, he said that the future of the world and the future of developing some changes in these
04:09international relations is within the triangle of Russia, China and India, of course. And there is
04:19no competition, of course, even if we speak about these three countries. We can just see some
04:27economic connections when we see some changes in the balance of this world. And of course,
04:34we can't say that this is anti-Western coalition. We just would like to highlight that this is the
04:41new format of the world. And India, China and other countries should be a part of this multipolar
04:50world. Even if we speak about these economic relations, security relations, even if we speak
04:58about all things about these countries, we should communicate. We have common problems in the world.
05:06And of course, the Western countries should be a part of this world. We can't just say that
05:14Western countries, due to some problems with Russia, can't be a part of this. And India
05:21understands this position, that we should communicate on different levels if we speak
05:28about these connections. So India has a very, very strong position. And I just would like to say that
05:38this is quite good understanding of the changing world. And even if we speak about BRICS countries,
05:46even if we speak about relations with the Western countries, of course, this is a position
05:52quite understandable for all of them. And this is the balance between these two,
05:59we can say, powers or something like this. Yes, this is the balance quite good solution
06:08for this policymaking. So this is my opinion, if we speak about this position.
06:15Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, during the BRICS meeting when President Putin was speaking,
06:23and he jokingly referred that Prime Minister Modi doesn't need an interpreter or any translation,
06:31because he understands, they both understand each other very well. That is one incident. The other
06:36incident is Prime Minister Modi, obviously meeting President Joe Biden at the lawns of the White
06:43House. Also, these two pictures are very different. How do you think this balancing act still
06:49keeps India in a very strong position?
06:53Of course, even if we speak about the previous visit of Narendra Modi to Moscow, we speak about
07:01July, when Narendra Modi visited Russia. And we also saw that quite good relations between our
07:09leaders, between our countries. And of course, the strategic partnership between India and Russia
07:18just, we can see that this is a part of our policymaking of our countries. And, of course,
07:28we just can see the difference between communication, if we speak about the USA,
07:37even if we speak about Russia, how warm this communication, if we speak about, for example,
07:45the President Putin, and we speak about, for example, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
07:51we can see just they have some good relations, even if we speak about some people's relations,
07:59yes. But if we speak about USA, I can just see some formal things, some kind of the etiquette,
08:09we can just see that this is also a leader, we respect this leader, we respect the country,
08:16but we have some formal relations just in. So, I think the difference is between these two
08:25countries and two understandings of these relations, we can see that we have some connections
08:34quite deeper than even formal connections. So, the balance is quite fine, we can see
08:44the both communication, we can see some countries which communicate with India in different levels.
08:54But if we speak about inter-people connection, if we speak about some warm relations, of course,
09:02we can see that Russia and India have this strong, I think, maybe cultural and historical
09:12connections together. And we speak about some relations with the USA and even some problems
09:22with the USA, because the USA wants to just say that you should behave like we want.
09:33This is quite the red line of the USA, just I can't say that this is a dictatorship,
09:45but this is quite the red line of every step of the USA. But India wants to have its strong
09:54position and according to national interests, of course, national interest, this is the first thing
10:04about what India thinks, about what India wants to just to make clear for everyone.
10:12So, this is the difference between two relations, two understandings of these steps and so on.
10:30Right. Olga, absolutely, you have definitely mentioned how distinctly these two relations
10:36with two countries are vis-a-vis India, both Russia and the United States. One final question,
10:42Olga, which I think the whole world is talking about is the peace initiatives between Russia
10:49and Ukraine. The war is ongoing and India is being seen as one of the peaceniks, if not a mediator,
10:56as far as these two countries are concerned, Russia and Ukraine. Also, we see India maintaining a
11:03balanced stance on the Gaza conflict, where United States is a player, albeit on the sidelines,
11:10but still it is very active. How does this particular act highlight India's potential
11:17as a neutral mediator in international conflicts and it sets up a unique diplomatic example
11:25within the BRICS and beyond? What do you think? Oh, it's quite a good question, even I think about
11:32it and about some acts from the Indian side, of course. Even if we speak about also
11:41visits of Narendra Modi to Russia and Ukraine also this summer, even if we speak about some
11:51quite clear position about the peace in Ukraine and some conflict resolution, of course, and I think
11:59India can be this power which will help both sides to understand what they want and understand
12:13what are the actions to make this peace more closer, I think. I think if we speak about some
12:26actions like this non-diplomatic, of course, India won't be part of this action. Some military
12:38things, I don't think about it, but if we speak about some communication, if we speak about some
12:45consultations with some leaders from both sides, even if we speak about Gaza and also resolution
12:53of this conflict, we can see that India can be a good example of understanding that the
13:07peaceful resolution of this conflict can be a part of our conversation between different
13:17countries. And also, this also shows the Indian role in the global world, of course. India
13:32now is not a part of non-alignment movement, just if we speak about sides. India is a player of this
13:45world, quite key player of this world. And just countries should understand that India can be a
13:54voice of the just not only global south, but a voice of the peaceful diplomatical movement,
14:07if we speak about some resolution of key conflicts in our world. And of course,
14:14we can speak about Gaza, we can speak about even Ukrainian conflict. I think both sides,
14:25even if we speak about Russia, even if we speak about Ukraine, understand that they should
14:34find a way to resolve some issues between our countries. We should live together,
14:41maybe not like the same, but we can just live together and understand what will happen next.
14:52It can be a quite long process, but we should understand that peaceful meanings and,
15:02of course, life of all people from both sides is quite more and we should find a way to resolve
15:25this conflict. And India, of course, will be part of this resolution. I believe that it will happen
15:37because India has its own experience, even if we speak about history. India has a lot of different
15:51people inside this country. We speak about religion, we speak about culture and so many
15:58languages. And of course, we speak about this experience of living people together
16:05without any serious conflicts. India can be a good example for countries to understand how to
16:13resolve some issues. If we speak about territory, we speak about cultural issues, even if we speak
16:20about some even quite resources and energy and so on and so on. So, I think in the future, India
16:33will have such position and maybe some diplomatic actions if we speak about resolving this
16:43two conflicts, if we speak about Gaza, if we speak about Ukraine.
16:49Thank you so much with your words. We also feel confident and we wish that there is a peaceful
16:56resolution as soon as possible to this conflict, which is ongoing, not just in Russia and Ukraine,
17:00but elsewhere as well. And also the role of India as has been historic, as you mentioned,
17:07has been of someone who speaks for peace and just for peace and equality for all. Thank you so much,
17:14Olga, for speaking to me. Olga Karina there, Associate Professor, Research Fellow of World
17:20Economy and International Affairs at the CCEIS. Thank you, Olga. Thank you.