India objects to UK, French, German envoys' article ahead of Putin trip

India and Russia are set to ink a number of agreements to enhance cooperation in an array of areas including trade and healthcare during Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to New Delhi this week, Indian officials said on Tuesday. Both sides are also expected to seal a pact on mobility that will facilitate the movement of Indian workers to Russia. It will also outline conditions for the recruitment of Indian workers, the officials said. President Putin will make a two-day visit to India beginning Thursday to hold annual summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that is expected to produce a plethora of significant outcomes, including in the trade and defence spheres to further solidify the bilateral strategic ties.

Meanwhile, India is miffed with the ambassadors representing France, the United Kingdom and Germany over their joint opinion piece in a national daily days ahead of Russian President Vladimir V. Putin’s visit to the national capital. “We see this [the opinion piece] as very unusual. It is not an acceptable diplomatic practice to advise India’s foreign relations with a third country. We have taken note of it,” an official from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Tuesday.

Ambassador Thierry Mathou of France, Philipp Ackermann of Germany and High Commissioner Lindy Cameron of the UK wrote a joint opinion piece carried Monday by the Times of India, highlighting their perceived position on Russia’s violations of international legal agreements in the ongoing war with Ukraine. The three diplomats further argued that while the world has been pushing for peace, Moscow is stalling the ongoing peace efforts with indiscriminate attacks on a daily basis against Ukraine.

The piece has set off a furore on social media with Kanwal Sibal, the former Indian foreign secretary, calling it “vicious” and a “diplomatic insult against India, as it questions India’s ties with a very friendly third country”. Sibal called for the MEA to “express its displeasure publicly” with the three envoys. Russian President Vladimir V. Putin is set to arrive in the national capital Thursday for a two-day state visit. Apart from holding discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in both restricted and delegation formats, he is set to be received at the Rashtrapati Bhawan Friday morning.

Putin’s visit to India comes at a time when the Trump administration in the US is attempting to find a breakthrough in the conflict with a potential peace deal. The last few weeks have seen intense negotiations, with the US and Russia finding an agreeable 28-point peace plan, which was diluted to a 19-point plan after Washington engaged in negotiations with Kyiv, Brussels and the European capitals.