Australia, like its western partners, is also looking at India-Russia ties in a different light. Quad partner United States also in the recent weeks have shown an inclination towards understanding that India-Russia ties are ‘distinct’. Ahead of the Modi-Morrison meeting, Australian defence minister Peter Dutton on Friday said that the relationship between India and Russia was not appreciated by many around the world before the current situation.
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Dutton while addressing the American Chamber of Commerce business lunch in Brisbane said that Russia has consistently supported India with regard to defence supplies.
He even admitted, according to a Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) report, that Australia felt it would be unable to share intelligence given the friendship between India and Russia. “It restricted some of our ability to share intelligence, particularly at a very high level with the Indians because of their friendship with the Russians,” Dutton was quoted as saying.
“We hope that India can look afresh at the relationship, particularly given the depth now of the agreements and the understandings and the friendships. And if we see that we should, then that might see a reassessment of the relationship between Russia and India,” the Australian defence minister was quoted as saying by the SMH.
Australian high commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell also said that Quad nations have understood that there are deep ties between India and Russia, according to a report by news agency Times Of India . He said that this relationship won’t impact India’s close ties with Quad. O’Farrell highlighted that every nation has distinct bilateral relationships with nations.
He highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for hostilities to end. O’Farrell also said that there is no reason for people to be unhappy as PM Modi urged both Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to talk directly to end the war.
The Modi-Morrison bilateral meet will also focus on Ukraine as was the case with Modi-Kishida meet with both Quad partners likely to nudge India to join them in condemning Russia.
Australia imposed sanctions on Russian banks and government entities last week. The Australian government has sanctioned 11 Russian banks and government entities. Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg are among the Russian oligarchs who face targeted financial sanctions and travel bans.
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