The Ukraine invasion has seized the minds of the people around the world. India has been caught in a bind on this issue since it has close ties with Russia going back to seven decades and is also not able to fully support the West led by the US to condemn the territorial transgression. In not voting at the UNSC meet last week, India did right. We should remain neutral on this matter since we have close friends involved on both sides and supporting anyone will only hurt India. Thus we should pursue diplomatically that both Russia and the West are friends that we do not want to lose. Going back to the dismemberment of the old Soviet Union to independent States like Ukraine and others pursuant to Gorbachev's Glasnost doctrine was wrong and has been proved in the many dictatorial regimes that dot the Central Asian region of the old USSR. Democracy has not been served which the West wanted to achieve by bringing down the Iron Curtain. Thus a correction was desired which Russia has taken a step towards by moving against Ukraine. We should therefore not object but let them build their own country that they want which actually is true democracy. One of the reasons that Russia is acting in this matter is that they are feeling hemmed in by NATO and the West and want to breathe freer by trying to get back the territory of the old Soviet Union. Strategically this is a correct decision and any country in the West would have done the same thing, so why blame Russia. Thus India should pursue a non-aligned policy and not take sides on the Ukraine issue.
S Kamat, Alto St Cruz
