US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an interview to The Atlantic said India and China may have prevented Russia's Vladimir Putin from using nuclear weapons on Ukraine to end the war.
By India Today World Desk: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin might have already used nuclear weapons on Ukraine, to end the war, if not for India and China.
Blinken, ahead of his visit to India for the G20 summit, credited India and China for having “a little bit more influence with Russia these days” in opposing the use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield.
In an interview to The Atlantic, Blinken said, "Putin might react more, even more irrationally, and there was language coming out of Moscow that suggested that he would look to the use of tactical nuclear weapons. It was a concern."
READ | Putin won't last longer than a year, says exiled ex-Russian MP
"We urged, and I think successfully, other countries that might have a little bit more influence with Russia these days, like China, but also other countries like India, to engage him [Vladimir Putin] directly about their absolute opposition to any use of nuclear weapons. And we know that they conveyed those messages, and I think that had some effect," he added.
Antony Blinken also acknowledged that India and Russia have a decades-long relationship, but things are moving favourably between India and the US now too.
ALSO READ | Looking to kill Donald Trump: Top commander after Iran develops 1,650-km range cruise missile
"India for decades had Russia at the core providing military equipment to it and its defenses, but what we’ve seen over the last few years is a trajectory away from relying on Russia and moving into partnership with us and with other countries like France," he said in the interview with The Atlantic.
India and China abstained from voting on ending the Ukraine war in the 193-member United Nations General Assembly on Friday, the one-year anniversary of the conflict. While 141 members voted in favour of the resolution, seven opposed it. India and China were among the 32 members that abstained.
Excerpts from PR @ruchirakamboj’s explanation of vote at the #UNGA Emergency Special Session on #Ukraine today. pic.twitter.com/tUptpHj09j — India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) February 24, 2023
Both India and China have so far taken a neutral stance, calling for dialogue and peaceful negotiations to end the Ukraine war that has entered its second year.
ALSO READ | China has no credibility on Russia-Ukraine war, says Nato chief Stoltenberg
"India remains steadfastly committed to multilateralism and upholds the principles of the UN Charter. We will always call for dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable way out. While we take note of the stated objective of today's Resolution, given its inherent limitations in reaching our desired goal of securing lasting peace, we are constrained to abstain," India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj told the UN.
Kamboj said that India's approach to the Ukraine conflict will continue to be people-centric and reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that this cannot be an era of war.
SwiftSnips on February 26th, 2023 at 17:03 UTC »
It opens a pandoras box that will be impossible to close. It also means the US gets involved & Russia would expect China and/or India to help and I highly doubt they want to do that. Because then many other countries jump on both sides and before you know it, you are in the middle of a new War involving 3/4ths of the World, not quite sure how it spiraled to that point.
Technodictator on February 26th, 2023 at 16:48 UTC »
Nukes are bad for business
Shinokiba- on February 26th, 2023 at 13:52 UTC »
Neither of those countries want the nuclear taboo broken. India doesn't want Pakistan to use nukes. China doesn't want Taiwan to build them.