Russia has praised India for not judging the conflict in Ukraine in a “one-sided way” as foreign ministers from both countries met in Delhi. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov – who also met Indian’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi – spoke of the “friendship” between the two nations in his statement. “These days our Western colleagues would like to reduce any meaningful international issue to the crisis in Ukraine,” he said. (https://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-russia-praises-india-not-133948120.html) Following the talks India said it favoured peaceful resolutions of conflicts but did not criticise Russia. Mr Lavrov’s Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, “emphasised the importance of cessation of violence and ending hostilities”. “Differences and disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and by respect for international law, [the] UN Charter, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states,” India’s foreign ministry said. Russia has justified invading Ukraine as a means to demilitarise and “de-Nazify” its neighbour, an argument widely dismissed by the West as a baseless pretext for invasion. India has not joined the widespread condemnation of Russia’s invasion and is a major buyer of Russian arms. But it faces a diplomatic balancing act, and is under pressure from Western countries to help rein in Russia.