India is a major partner of the United Kingdom and the two countries are negotiating a new trade deal, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told CNN-News18 in an interview during her visit to India on Thursday. Britain is cutting its strategic dependence on Russia and China and wants to do more with friends like India, said Truss, who was in New Delhi on the same day as his Russian counterpart. Sergei Lavrov, Edited excerpt:
This is your second visit to India in six months and this time you have come with a clear message on the Ukraine issue, I understand. As far as Russia is concerned, what message have you conveyed to the Indian side and how has it been received?
The reason I am here in India is because Indian relations are very important to the UK. We see India as a major partner. We want to work together in areas like technology, negotiating trade agreements. We want to work more closely in areas such as energy, security and defence, and the situation in Russia and Ukraine has shattered European security. We are in a different world now, we are in a more vulnerable world, and this time it is important that we work with our friends to improve our mutual security. And that’s what I have come to talk about in India today.
I think there was a message that you want to communicate with the Indian side as far as reducing dependence on Russia is concerned. Have you mentioned anything specific in this regard?
Well, I think we need to look at our dependence on foreign authoritarian countries. We are doing this in the United Kingdom. We don’t want to be strategically dependent on countries we can’t trust. We’re doing more to make sure we produce at home, but we’re also doing more to make sure we work with trusted partners. And these are the discussions we are having with India about how the UK and India can improve our domestic resilience, for example in areas like defense and energy, how we can make sure we are not dependent on other countries There is no single point of failure in terms of supply, if you wish, whether it is vital minerals and energy. And this is something that India and the United Kingdom can work on.
But India has already shown its intention to buy subsidized oil from Russia. Did this come up for discussion?
I am not going to interfere in India’s sovereign decisions, but we all believe that we need to make sure that we are able to be flexible and able to make independent sovereign decisions. What the Russia-Ukraine crisis has shown is that Europe is particularly heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas. And it has enabled Vladimir Putin to fund his war machine in Ukraine, but it has also enabled him to transcend the countries of Europe, and I think we have assumed that cheap goods, and cheap oil and gas. A price has to be paid for it. , That’s why Britain is thinking of imposing sanctions on Russian oil from Britain by the end of this year. We are looking to reduce our dependency. We have imposed sanctions on the Russian economy, but we also want to reduce our strategic dependence on China. We want to rely on partners we trust. And one of the partners we can count on is India.
But I understand that many European countries are not very happy or unhappy with India’s stand on Ukraine in the UN Security Council or UN forums. Why is India’s position not seen as neutral by European countries? I mean, after all, India last week also avoided a proposal backed by Russia. And India has shown intention that it wants to keep its foreign policy independent and sovereign.
We are very clear that Russia has violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and this should concern countries around the world. Because if authoritarian regimes are allowed to do this, if an aggressor is allowed to get away with it, it sends a terrifying signal to other aggressors around the world. And that’s why Britain has taken a very strong stance in helping defend itself, in terms of imposing the toughest possible sanctions on Russia, by being the first European country to supply arms to Ukraine. But I agree that as a sovereign decision of the UK, we want to improve our resilience, we want to end any dependence on Russia, we want to reduce our reliance on authoritarian regimes, and I know That India and other countries around the world want to improve their domestic resilience, and today I am here in India to talk about that.
Yesterday, at the BIMSTEC summit, PM Modi had said how the Ukraine crisis raised questions on the international order. The Japanese Prime Minister has also spoken about the crisis, saying that it has shaken the roots of the international order. How can we bring back stability in the international order? Was this also a matter of discussion?
I think it’s absolutely right. The crisis has shattered European security. We would never have expected in our lifetime that we would have seen this war taking place in Europe. And it raises questions about defense spending; Now we are saying that European countries are stepping up in terms of defense spending. It raises questions about economic security, energy security and it also raises questions about overall global security, as it is not limited to the Euro-Atlantic. When a sovereign nation is invaded, and this is why we need to make sure Putin loses in Ukraine, this cannot be a suggestion to other aggressors around the world that this is something that will be normal. , or would be acceptable because it would have a disastrous effect on global security. And the reason why countries like Japan have joined the UK in imposing sanctions on Russia is because they recognize a reason in the issue, because it is also an issue about respecting the territorial integrity of a nation that every part of the world has to offer. The country can be left behind.
Do you think the Ukraine crisis has changed the relationship between India and European countries, India and the UK? Because last time you underlined that there is a growing understanding between India and the UK as far as security issues are concerned.
I think the UK and India will work together as a result of this global security crisis because our interests are linked, we are both democracies, we both believe in sovereignty and territorial integrity. We haven’t worked together enough in the past, and I think it gives us new impetus to work more closely whether it’s technology, whether it’s on defence, or on business. Trade talks are going on, we want it to accelerate. So that we can improve economic relations between Britain and India.
You were not very hopeful when the talks between Ukraine and Russia were going on in Turkey. You, in fact, warned that Ukraine could be shortened. Where is this fear coming from?
I don’t believe the Russians are serious about talks until they withdraw their troops from Ukraine. The fact is that while they are claiming that they are part of the talks, at the same time, they are shelling innocent civilians in Ukraine. This is appalling, and we will take those talks seriously only when Vladimir Putin withdraws his troops from Ukraine. I don’t see how Ukrainians are expected to negotiate with guns over their heads.
Are we likely to finalize an interim deal by the end of April, as that was the timeline that was set, and a final deal by the end of the year? Are we going by that timeline now?
Increasing trade between India and Britain is very important. We have a lot in common, there’s a lot we can work on. So I want to see progress as fast as possible. That’s why I’m making my third visit to India because it’s a very important relationship for us and we’re going to have as good a deal as possible that will benefit the people of the UK and the people here. India.
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