A closer US and Russia makes India hopeful. China, not so much

India hopes the Biden-Putin summit will make balancing US-Russia ties easier – but taking delivery of Russian missile systems against US wishes could test that

Analysts say China may fear the US is trying to do a ‘Kissinger in reverse’, while also noting that Russia ‘won’t get played by the US so easily’

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden shake hands on June 16. Photo: AP

Published: 6:00pm, 28 Jun 2021Updated: 8:40pm, 28 Jun 2021

The relatively positive note on which the recent summit between the US and Russian presidents ended has raised hopes in India that warming ties between the former Cold War adversaries could play into New Delhi’s hands.

Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin met in Geneva on June 16 in what was the first meeting between the leaders of the United States and Russia since 2018. Though they made little progress on issues such as cybersecurity, Ukraine or human rights, both leaders left the meeting claiming some satisfaction and indicated they would continue their engagement.

The meeting gave India hope that even a slight warming in US-Russia relations could create space for it to strengthen its own ties with the two countries.

“The fact that the summit ended on a positive note with a possibility of further deliberations and progress is a good thing for us,” said Navtej Sarna, who was India’s ambassador in Washington from 2016 to 2018.

Sarna said India had wide-ranging and crucial relationships with both the US and Russia and adversarial relations between them were a source of tension for Delhi.

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin at their summit in Geneva. Photo: Bloomberg