The Charge d'Affaires of the Russian Embassy in Delhi, Roman Babushkin, on Wednesday expressed hope that the partnership between India and Russia will continue regardless of the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
Addressing a press briefing on the ongoing tensions in Ukraine, Babushkin said, "We hope our partnership will continue further at the same level which we are enjoying today."
The Russian envoy highlighted the long-standing partnership between the two countries. "With India, we have a very strong, long, trusted and deep cooperation," he said, adding that "Russia remains the only country which is honest to sharing sophisticated technologies with India".
referring to the Russian-Indian bilateral summit held in December last year, he said, "We've signed the programme for 10 years of cooperation in the defence area. We have a lot of big projects in the pipeline and we have full confidence that all our plans will be successfully implemented."
"Defence cooperation between two nations is a strong factor of international peace and stability and to the full extent reflects the national interest of both countries," he said.
The briefing came after a fresh round of sanctions on Russia were announced by several countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Japan.
Tensions escalated to unprecedented levels when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine on Monday.
Later in the day, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met following requests for an urgent meeting by the United States and allies.
Condemning Russia's move to recognize regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations demanded Moscow to return to the table for negotiations as well as immediate and complete verifiable withdrawal of occupation troops.
"We demand Russia to return to the table for negotiations. We condemn the order to deploy additional Russian occupation troops in the territories of Ukraine. We demand the immediate and complete verifiable withdrawal of occupation troops," said the Ukrainian envoy to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya at the emergency meeting on Ukraine.
The Russian side maintained that the action was taken to stop the alleged "bloodbath" in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
"However, allowing bloodbath in Donbas is something we don't intend to do. We are forced to note the negative role played by our Western colleagues led by the US," said Russia at the UNSC meeting on Ukraine.
Speaking on the UNSC briefing on developments in Ukraine, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti said that the escalation of tension along the border of Ukraine with the Russian Federation has the potential to undermine peace and security of the region.
Tirumurti called for restraint on all sides. "The immediate priority is de-escalation of tensions taking into account the legitimate security interests of all countries for securing long-term peace and stability in the region and beyond," he said.
The UN chief Antonio Guterres expressed concern over Russia's decision. The UN chief called for "the peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine in accordance with the Minsk Agreements, as endorsed by the Security Council in resolution 2202 (2015)"
( With inputs from ANI )
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