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.
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