Global Geo-political Series: Russia urges India to join China’s ‘one belt one road initiative’

During a trilateral meeting with India and China’s foreign ministers in New Delhi, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov urged India to join China’s signature ‘one belt, one road’ initiative that envisions building a modern-day silk road. Lavrov, who met with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the discussion involved India’s reservation over the project. Lavrov said, “I know India has problems, we discussed it today, with the concept of One Belt and One Road, but the specific problem in this regard should not make everything else conditional to resolving political issues….. India, I am 100 percent convinced, has enough very smart diplomats and politicians to find a way which would allow you to benefit from this process.”

India, which is strongly opposed to an economic corridor that China is building in Pakistan that runs through disputed Kashmir as part of the Belt and Road initiative, was the only country that stayed away from a May summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping to promote the plan to build railways, ports and power grids as a part of the project, while Russia, all the countries in central Asia, and European nations had signed up to the Chinese project to boost economic cooperation.

While China’s belt project, which is through lands, is progressing, it’s maritime road initiative has stalled largely due to India’s opposition and that latter’s influence in the Indian Ocean region.