India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to go along with India’s partners the Quad mechanism—the United States, Japan, and Australia—during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on March 19. Their joint communiqué did not mention Russia, let alone imposing sanctions, Global Times reported.
Although Kishida pushed Modi to take a tougher line on Russia over the Ukraine issue during his first visit to India after taking office, the joint statement showed that the Japanese lobbying did not meet the expectations of the United States or Australia. None of the other three “Quad” members carries the weight to persuade their ally India to sacrifice its own national interests, given that Russia plays an important role in India’s strategic policy, experts said.
In the joint statement, the prime ministers expressed their concern about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, and assessed its broader implications, particularly to the Indo-Pacific region. They reiterated their call for an immediate cessation of violence, and stated that there was no other choice but the path of dialogue and diplomacy for resolution of conflict.
