The end of the Russia-U.S. honeymoon has forced President Boris Yeltsin to look to India and China to prevent the eastward expansion of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato).
NATOs expansion is leaving us with no other option but to turn to the east, says Mikhail Titorenko, director of the Institute of Far East Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
India, like Russia and China, is opposed to Natos expansion and stands against dominance of a single super power in world affairs, Professor Yurlov of Moscows Institute of Oriental Studies said.
Indias relations with China have largely improved over the years, he noted. And now that there is a breakthrough in relations between Russia and China, if relations between these three giants are cemented, it can successfully combat American hegemony in world affairs.
Having exhausted all means to persuade the western powers to abandon expansion, Yeltsin, during whose tenure Indo-Russian ties touched rock bottom, first looked to India for strategic political support.
We pay special attention to ties with India, with whom our friendship has stood the test of time. We have agreed to upgrade our relations to the level of a strategic partnership, Yeltsin said during former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowdas visit here in March.
On the one hand, we witness ever greater desire for regional and global cooperation in areas of promotion of peace and security, cooperation in the field of economy and culture, humanitarian areas and environmental protection. On the other, we witness manifestations of expansionism, he said, clearly referring to the Nato expansion.
Yeltsin appeared vehement in his opposition to dominance of a group of countries in world affairs, saying that such a situation was extremely dangerous and inadmissible. In this connection he preferred to quote Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who had said, Truth is multifaceted and is not a monopoly of any group or nation.
Then Chinese President Jiang Zemin came to Moscow on a five-day state visit to uplift bilateral ties. Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin, just back from his tour of Prague, rushed to welcome Jiang in the hope the China factor could be a counterbalance to Western moves.
Yeltsin, who had been on vacation at Black Sea health resort of Sochi, returned to Moscow for the pathbreaking summit with Jiang. The two leaders issued a joint statement, which is being described here as historic.
The statement proposes opposition to any countrys attempt to play the role of an absolute leader in international affairs, an obvious reference to Americas conduct in world affairs. The joint declaration calls for a new multi-polar world in the 21st century, covertly denouncing Americas desire to set up a unipolar world.
India Abroad News Service
Mr Yeltsin, who was visibly happy over the outcome of the summit, stressed the unprecedented nature of the joint declaration saying Russia has not signed such a document with any other country.
In a clear challenge to U.S. hegemony in international affairs in the post-Cold War world, Mr Yeltsin declared that Russia and China oppose any attempt to establish a unipolar world. Some one is trying to push us to a unipolar world, wishing to establish a dictatorship, he told a news conference here. But we want multipolarity. The current world order should be based on several corner stones, he said.
Observers here believe Mr Jiangs visit to be of vital importance for Russia, which is desperately trying to find counter measures to NATOs imminent eastward expansion. Just weeks after signing a reunion treaty with Belarus, Kremlin is now turning towards its potential Asian allies.
Of late Mr Yeltsin has been often talking of India as a pole in the multi-polar world. During the Sino-Russian summit, he made a special mention of the positive development of cooperation within the triangle of Russia-China-India.
Although some analysts have started talking in terms of a Moscow-Beijing-Delhi triangle, the emergence of such an axis in the near future seems more hypothetical with sceptics pointing out that mutual suspicion between China and Russia may dilute both sides commitment to the joint declaration.
Some analysts also doubt the seriousness of Mr Yeltsins intentions. Can Mr Yeltsin, who has been soft-pedalling American policy in the world like the U.S. Presidents junior partner even sometimes to the detriment of Russian national interest, be taken seriously in his opposition to Washingtons absolute role in world affairs? Prof Yurlov asked.
Whether he (Mr Yeltsin) is simply playing the Chinese and Indian cards to get some temporary concessions from the West to convince his countrymen that he can defend Russias honour and dignity as a super power by defying Mr Clintons decision to expand NATO, remains to be seen, he said.
India Abroad News Service (Credit Mandatory) ends/28.4.97
