WHAT'S COOKING?

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN IS NOT KNOWN TO OFTEN MEET FOREIGN LEADERS BELOW THE RANK OF HEAD OF GOVERNMENT, EVEN FOREIGN MINISTERS ARE RARELY GIVEN AUDIENCE. SO WHEN HE HAD AN HOUR-LONG TETE-A-TETE WITH INDIA’S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR AJIT DOVAL IN MOSCOW RECENTLY, IT CAUGHT THE WORLD’S ATTENTION

- ABHA KHANNA

NSA Ajit Doval was in Moscow for a meeting of regional security heads to discuss the Afghanistan situation. The next morning, he was called for a rare one-on-one meeting with Putin. There is of course no word on what transpired in this meeting, but one thing is crystal clear – the issue at hand was too important/sensitive to be discussed through regular diplomatic channels, or even over the phone.

Doval was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s messenger, and Putin was all ears. No doubt, the meeting said a lot about New DelhiMoscow relations.

As news of the meeting came out, Russian media flashed that President Putin ‘broke protocol to meet Indian NSA Doval’.

Though the Afghan issue is important for both Russia and India, it is unlikely to have been the topic for this unexpected meet. India’s engagement with Moscow has many dimensions in the present context, the most significant being – bilateral trade in the face of US pressures, India’s emphasis on peace in the backdrop of Russia-Ukraine war, and the geo-political positioning of Russia vis-à-vis China.

WILL INDIA MEDIATE?

It is significant that Doval’s solo audience with Putin came just after the NSA’s visits to Washington and London, which are leading the Western coalition to support Ukraine in the conflict that began a year ago. This has fuelled expectations that India may play a vital mediatory role in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Interestingly, the world is also seeing India in that role now.