India will not sever ties with Russia – expert to RT

India will not cut ties with Russia despite pressure from the West, as their relationship is not just “transactional,” but has a long history of trust behind it, New Delhi-based journalist and analyst Nitin Gokhale told RT.

“India has never had any reasons to complain [about] Russia or even the Soviet Union,” Gokhale said, describing relations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “special bond of friendship.”

“Russia stood by India, India stood by Russia,” he went on to say, noting that India has not condemned Russia over the Ukraine conflict despite constant pressure from the West. Gokhale added that the Russian economy is “chugging along” despite the Western sanctions, as it continues to engage with partners in the East, particularly India and China. A number of experts have noted that Russia has not been isolated economically or politically despite the efforts of the West.

Gokhale also touched upon Russian-Indian energy trade, which has surged in the past two years in the aftermath of the Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict. New Delhi ramped up purchases of discounted Russian oil, taking bilateral trade turnover to over $65 billion last year. Had India not opted to buy oil from Russia, the world economy “would have been in dire straits,” he suggested.

Previously, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam stated that India’s purchases of Russian oil and coal helped to stabilize the global energy market. The Western political establishment, Gokhale suggested, “does not like India’s rise,” preferring the country to be “a chaotic democracy led by a weak leader.”

Gokhale’s comments come amid Modi’s second visit to Russia in just three months. On Tuesday, the Indian leader, who is attending the BRICS Summit in Kazan, praised the “close coordination and deep friendship” between New Delhi and Moscow as he held bilateral talks with Putin. The leaders discussed the strategic partnership between the two nations, which the Russian president said continues to expand.

“We’re seeing a strengthening of cooperation between our legislatures; our foreign ministers are in constant contact, and bilateral trade is showing good dynamics,” Putin told Modi. During their bilateral summit in July, the leaders agreed to expand bilateral trade volume to over $100 billion by 2030.