New Delhi [India], December 7 (ANI): Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit, former Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, Talmiz Ahmad, said on Sunday that the West must understand that India retains the right to shape and structure its ties with other countries.
He also advocated for India’s use of “strategic autonomy” amid social media criticism from Americans over hosting Putin, who faces bipartisan condemnation in the United States for waging war against Ukraine.
In an interview with ANI, Ahmad said Putin’s visit remains significant but comes at a time of “deep divide.” He noted that although such divisions existed between the West and East during the Cold War, the West is now “demonizing” Russia and pressuring other nations to choose sides.
“The visit is significant, obviously. We have very substantial ties that go back several decades. These have been constantly reaffirmed. But the visit now took place at a time of deep division. There’s a divide between the West and the East reminiscent of the Cold War. And the West is mobilizing all its resources — political, military, diplomatic — to demonize Russia somehow and to suggest that either you are with us or against us,” Ahmad said.
The former diplomat said countries like India have repeatedly asserted that they should not be forced into such choices and must retain the freedom to determine their own partnerships.
“Countries like India have been constantly saying that don’t force us to make choices like this. We don’t want a new Cold War. We want to retain the right to decide our own kind of relationship with different people. We are not hostile to the West, but we retain the right to shape and structure our ties with other countries,” he said.
Ahmad prefers using the term “strategic autonomy” rather than External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s “plurilateralism” or “minilateralism,” arguing that India is an independent state that makes decisions in its national interest without outside pressure. He said most of the international community practices strategic autonomy.
He added that the term “non-aligned” carried a similar meaning but was more relevant before the end of the Cold War.
“Strategic autonomy says precisely what I wish to imply. And that is: I am an independent state. I want to make my own decisions. Other countries’ decisions will not influence me. I will make decisions in my national interest. That’s what I’m asserting,” Ahmad said.
He noted that many in the European Union continue to engage with Russia and purchase Russian energy, while the United States interacts with both Russia and China. Putin, he said, recently pointed out that the US still buys nuclear fuel from Russia.
“Different countries are purchasing rare earths all the time. How dare they presume to tell India or any other country what we should do or what we should not do,” he added.
Ahmad further argued that the days of US hegemony are over and blamed Washington for creating the conditions of a possible new Cold War.
“It is the Americans who have created this scenario of a possible new Cold War, where either you are with us or against us. The background is very clear. After the Cold War ended, you had a unipolar world order, with the United States as the hegemon. But much has happened since then. The United States has lost credibility due to its misadventure in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. They are no longer that credible power that they used to be when they were asserting hegemony,” he said.
He also spoke of the rise of “middle powers” pushing their views in an increasingly multipolar world.
“In the meantime, other players have entered the global scenario. You have got China, which is challenging the Americans in various areas, particularly in the economy, technology, and logistics. And you have various other countries, roughly referred to as middle powers, which are important in their region and are asserting a role for themselves in that regard,” Ahmad said.
“This is why we call it a multipolar world order, where a large number of countries, usually middle powers, are seeking to assert their point of view and their role in world affairs. And the days of hegemony are done. Now, this scenario is not a new Cold War. It is basically the rise of a multipolar order. Within the multipolar order, countries assert strategic autonomy,” he added. (ANI)
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