time of war

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-nation Europe visit comes at a time when the continent is facing its biggest security crisis since the end of the Cold War. In Germany, Mr. Modi and Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated the partnership between the two countries. Berlin has also announced €10 billion for bilateral cooperation. In Copenhagen, Mr Modi attended the India-Nordic Summit with leaders from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. In the final phase, the Prime Minister will hold talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, who was recently re-elected. While bilateral issues are at the center of these meetings, the elephant in the room is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Mr Modi’s visit comes days after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to India. New Delhi’s neutral position on the war has generated both criticism and engagement with the West. India has seen several high-profile visits from the West, with some top officials pressuring New Delhi to cut trade with Russia, a traditional strategic partner. In the Nordic Five, Sweden and Finland are now considering abandoning their decades-old neutrality and seeking NATO membership.

However, in Germany both sides showed pragmatism on the question of Ukraine. Germany, like India, has deep economic ties with Russia – if for India it is about defense supplies, then for Germany, it accounts for about 40% of its gas import requirements. While the Russian aggression has prompted Germany to increase its defense spending and join a Western sanctions regime, it has been reluctant to send weapons to Kyiv compared to other NATO members in Eastern Europe. While Mr Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop this senseless killing and withdraw his troops”, Mr Modi’s response was more measured. He said that no party can be victorious and talks are the only way out. India and Germany also revealed the roadmap for the next level of their partnership. Germany has said India is its “central partner” in Asia and will continue to expand closer cooperation. Given the direction of the Ukraine conflict, Europe is expected to take a more secure approach to foreign policy from now on. In the post-Cold War world when Europe saw relatively stability, India managed to forge strong ties with both the West and Russia. But that era of multi-directional partnership is now facing its strongest test, with the West trying to “undermine” Russia and Moscow’s warnings of a new world war. The challenge before New Delhi is to forge a strong strategic future with Europe without immediately disrupting its complex but vital partnership with an increasingly isolated, angry Russia.