Do as I say, not as I do

With the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalating in the 2nd month we have been witnessing the spirit of “You are either with us or against us” roping over the western world. The recent comment by US deputy NSA Dallep Singh says the same. He warned India and other nations against carrying out local currency transactions through the Russian central bank or developing any payment mechanism that undermines the sanctions against Russia. In response to that India’s former Permanent Representative to India Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin pointed out that Daleep Singh’s remarks were “not in keeping with the diplomatic traditions or means of engagement between two friends”.

As Daleep Singh talked about oil, let’s look at some facts for a moment. India is one of the largest buyers of crude oil in the world. The volatile nature of the price of crude oil has a great impact on our current account transactions. Even after the conflict started India had bought less than one percent of her total consumption from Russia. India still is buying 7-8 pc of oil from the US and a major chunk from Gulf countries. As honorable external affairs Minister Dr. Jaishankar pointed out in the recent India-UK Strategic Futures Forum, “When oil prices go up, I think it’s natural for countries to go out into the market and look for what are good deals for them. But I am pretty sure if we wait two or three months and look at who are the big buyers of Russian gas and oil, I suspect the list won’t be very different from what it used to be. And I suspect we won’t be at the top 10 of that list”. And Minister’s remark was rightly observed because in March only Europe itself bought 15% more oil than earlier than Russia.

It clearly shows the hypocritical approach of the west, in short, they are threatening coercively and advising developing countries that “Do as I say, Not as I do”. It is very understandable for developing countries to buy oil at a discounted price. These unilateral sanctions have already tightened their current account deficit which was quadratic after the pandemic, and whose economic outcomes are still highly dependent on oil prices.

Buying something from Russia does not mean that we are supporting Russia’s special military operation, it simply means that we are there looking for the interest of our people. When we look at the past we realize that this is not the first time these so-called developed nations are unilaterally breaking international laws. They’ve done this in Iraq, Iran, Syria and now with Russia. But one thing they have forgotten is that Russia is not Iran or Syria. Vladimir Putin is not Asad or Rouhani. Putin is Ex-KGB and he has been there since the inception of the Russian federation. Mr. Putin had dealt with Bush, Obama, Trump, and now Biden. He had survived sanctions in 2014-15 and there is no doubt that he will survive these sanctions this time as well. The Russian Rouble becoming stable at the end of March 2022 is one example. But this is not just about Russia and the West this is about the nature of coercion of these developed nations towards Asian and African countries who do not wish to pick sides. Especially America, which is not able to comprehend the simple thing that the real threat is China and not Russia. China is the one who is challenging US hegemony, China is the one who is challenging the US-led global order.

Joe Biden and his administration have to realize that America is a declining superpower and China is the rising one. American Diplomats do not possess the pragmatism that their predecessors George Kennan and Henry Kissinger used to have. West needs to realize that the global balance of power is shifting. Multipolarity will soon be a reality. Every country has the right to work for its National Interest. The solution lies within Diplomacy and not in coercion.