Modi and Putin strengthen ties

The warm embrace of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leader of the world’s most populous democracy and a partner, with Australia, in the Quad alliance of democratic nations, in Moscow on Monday was cause for concern. Warrants for Putin’s arrest on war crimes charges over his invasion of Ukraine were issued by the International Criminal Court in March last year. Since then he has been sidelined by most of the democratic world.

That did not stop Mr Modi, however, from embracing Putin on the Indian leader’s first visit to Moscow in five years on Monday. Their meeting coincided with the latest atrocity committed by Russian forces. Using cruise and ballistic missiles, they targeted the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine’s biggest children’s medical facility. Other strikes across Ukraine killed and wounded dozens more.

The onslaught should encourage leaders of the 32 NATO nations, at their historic 75th anniversary summit in Washington, to agree to additional air defence systems for Ukraine. They are also set to recommit the world’s most powerful military alliance to open-ended backing of Kyiv’s security.

About 2½ years into a war that has left tens of thousands of dead and wounded on both sides, that is what the democratic world must do. Anthony Albanese unfortunately declined an invitation to attend the NATO summit. But Defence Minister Richard Marles is expected to make a welcome announcement of further Australian aid for President Volodymyr Zelensky’s embattled, courageous nation.

Providing such aid is what all countries that value democracy and human decency should be doing to defeat Putin. But there was no sign of Mr Modi doing so in Moscow, despite the sanctimonious role India claims for itself as a vast democracy of enormous strategic and moral importance to the Indo-Pacific and the world.

Instead, Mr Modi cynically prioritised India’s purchase of massive quantities of Russian oil at bargain-basement prices, defying global trade sanctions imposed on Moscow over Ukraine. The two leaders also doubled down on Russia’s role as India’s principal arms supplier, which dates back to the Cold War and the pro-Moscow Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Mr Modi and Putin also discussed closer ties over Moscow’s role in helping build another 18 nuclear energy power plants, due to come on stream by 2032.