NEW DELHI: After dithering for weeks, India quietly decided we extend recognition to the breakaway Russian republic and 10 invite its President Boris Yeltsin to India.
Yeltsin is now likely to visit India sometime in the third week of December. The Russian republic is also expected to raise the Soviet consulate general’s office at Bombay to the level of diplomatic mission.
India ate the bitter pill following realization that it depended largely on Russian republic for defense supplies and trade commodities while other Soviet republics had a nominal share in the Indo-Soviet offence and trade cooperation.
New Delhi had all along been hoping against hope that the Soviet Union would remain in one piece. Prime Minister Rao slated sometime ago that the Soviet Union could not be broken up. Obviously Indian ruling circles viewed the developments within the Soviet Union as dangerous to India’s “unity and integrity”.
Indian Foreign Minister Madhavsingh Solanki was in Moscow last week 1o assess the political situation there in the wake of Soviet vote against India on the nuclear free zone issue at the United Nations as well as Delhi’s changed policy towards the United States.
According to sources here, India was told by Soviet leaders in no uncertain terms that they had taken due notice of the changes in Delhi’s foreign policy and that they would try to adjust themselves in the new situation.
Indian media, however, came out with stories in justification of Delhi’s sudden tilt in favor of Washington that it was the Soviet Union that had changed. India went to the extent of lodging a protest 10 Moscow for its vote against India at the United Nations.
Evidently the Indian Minister was forced by Russian chief Yeltsin that India would have to recognize Russian republic before normal defense and trade ties between the two countries could be resumed. India, therefore, was compelled to recognize the Russian republic. Yeltsin is trying to get international support for the breakaway republic. He went to Germany recently and would now come to India for a visit.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 29, 1991
