'West Pursuing The Goal of Tearing New Delhi Away From Moscow': Russian envoy to India

The Russian envoy to India has asserted that Western nations actively seek to disrupt the longstanding relationship between New Delhi and Moscow. In an interview with the RT news agency on Saturday Denis Alipov said that US officials who come to India do not hesitate to directly state that “they are pursuing the goal of tearing New Delhi away from Moscow.”

“They are even making threats with secondary sanctions. Some Indian partners are forced to exercise caution, sometimes, frankly speaking, excessively, but there are also a significant number of those for whom such an approach is unacceptable,” he said. India and Russia have sustained robust strategic ties for decades, with substantial defence collaboration at the center of their partnership.

Following the start of the Ukraine conflict in Feb 2022, India has notably become one of the principal importers of Russian oil in the last 18 months. This stance by New Delhi has often come under scrutiny and criticism from Western media outlets.