Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago

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I'm glad that Mr Modi in Samarkand actually said Mr Putin this is not an era of war It's a modest beginning towards pointing out that Mr Putin shouldn't have started that war and continued it But now it's also true that India has subsequently managed its stance somewhat adroitly It is for example a very very major purchaser of Russian oil and gas so Mr modi can rightly turn to the Indian public and say If you don't like my Russia policy you're getting cheaper oil and gas because of it So that's that's a very fair point he can make You agree with that
I agree with that and I'll explain to you in a second why it's not just I who agree with it The fact is that that's part of the argument I'll come back to it in a minute There's also the point that he's gone to Ukraine and I thought that was a very important thing to do So that he has actually shown India's acceptability to both sides of the divide That going to Ukraine was particularly important because you remember he went to moscow and embraced Mr Putin on the very day that Russian bombs and missiles were falling on a children's hospital killing children.