Why India has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Why India has not condemned² Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Transcript³

The U.S. wants India to condemn¹ Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but so far the world's biggest democracy has not. India has deep ties with Moscow, some distrust of the West and big concerns about China.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

President Biden is meeting virtually with India's prime minister today, part of a diplomatic push to get India off the fence when it comes to the war in Ukraine. India has not condemned Russia's invasion. From New Delhi, NPR's Lauren Frayer explains why.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I can smell the gunpowder⁴ in the air.

LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE⁵: The Ukraine war is getting lots of coverage⁶ in India. One of the top Hindi channels here has 3D holograms of Russian tanks zooming⁷ around the studio set. It looks like a video game. But while Western media report on Russia's retreat, this channel is reporting on Russian advances.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (Speaking Hindi).

FRAYER: And the news commentary here about sanctions and diplomacy⁸ is also often sympathetic to Russia. Listen to how one of India's most famous TV hosts, Arnab Goswami, opened his show recently.

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ARNAB GOSWAMI: Has isolating⁹ Russia as a war tactic¹⁰ worked so far? It hasn't. It hasn't. And if there are any Americans watching this tonight, it hasn't. And let me tell you, Americans, it won't.

FRAYER: That monologue¹¹ reflects India's mistrust of the West, its commitment to neutrality and its long-standing friendship with Russia. Columnist¹² Seema Sirohi says that despite some flamboyant¹³ TV news personalities¹⁴, India's debate about Ukraine has actually been more nuanced than what she's experienced where she lives in Washington.

SEEMA SIROHI: Here there is only condemnation¹⁵. It's bordering on hysteria. And it kind of reminds me - in the runup to the Iraq War, it was very depressing to watch U.S. media play the role of cheerleaders. And we know what happened in the Middle East after that war.

FRAYER: Watching that, plus having a colonial past, leaves India wanting to make its own decisions, so it has not joined Western sanctions on Russia. Neither have most countries other than the relatively¹⁶ rich democracies of the West. The world's biggest democracy is India, and it is still buying Russian oil. Indian officials suggest it's hypocritical of the West to ask them to stop. Here's India's foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, at a recent event with his British counterpart.

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S JAISHANKAR: If you look at the major buyers of oil and gas from Russia, I think you'll find most of them are in Europe.

FRAYER: Now, this isn't only about cheap Russian oil, though that goes a long way in energy-poor India. Russia also supplies fertilizer for crops that help feed 1.4 billion Indians. And Russia has armed India for decades. It's still India's biggest weapons supplier.

PRANAY KOTASTHANE: A lot of people in India still feel that Russia has been a reliable partner to India.

FRAYER: Analyst¹⁷ Pranay Kotasthane says the classic example is 1971, a war in which the U.S. backed Pakistan, and the USSR backed India. But that was 50 years ago, and India sees a bigger threat now - China. India and China share a long Himalayan border where soldiers fought two years ago and are still in a standoff. India wants Russia to have its back.

KOTASTHANE: So the fear is that if India were to disconnect from Russia altogether, then Russia will not come to India's aid if something happens between India and China.

FRAYER: And that's actually something that the U.S. fears, too. And so while the West may be dismayed by the world's biggest democracy refusing to condemn the invasion of a sovereign nation - Ukraine - U.S. officials have told India they get it. They understand India's neutrality, and they also understand and share India's real concern about China. Lauren Frayer, NPR News, New Delhi.

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1 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 gunpowder   

n.火药

参考例句：

• Gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the first half of the 14th century.在14世纪上半叶，火药传入欧洲。
• This statement has a strong smell of gunpowder.这是一篇充满火药味的声明。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

7 zooming   

adj.快速上升的v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去分词 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• Zooming and panning are navigational tools for exploring 2D and 3D information. 缩放和平移是浏览二维和三维信息的导航工具。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Panning and zooming, especially when paired together, create navigation difficulties for users. 对于用户来说，平移和缩放一起使用时，产生了更多的导航困难。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

10 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

11 monologue   

n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白

参考例句：

• The comedian gave a long monologue of jokes.喜剧演员讲了一长段由笑话组成的独白。
• He went into a long monologue.他一个人滔滔不绝地讲话。

12 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

13 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

14 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

15 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

16 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

17 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。