India Needs Russia's Assistance to Defend Its Borders: Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman (File Image)

(Photo: PTI)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in an interview that India needs the assistance of Russia to defend its borders and needs to be friends with the "liberal world" too.

Sitharaman was attending the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in the United States on Friday, 22 April.

In a reference to China and Pakistan, Sitharaman said, "You have a neighbour who joins hands with another neighbour, both of whom are against me. In the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, God forbid, if there are alliances created, India has to be strong enough to protect itself," Sitharaman said in an interview to Bloomberg.

"India wants to be friends with the European Union and the Western, free, liberal world," she added, further saying, "but not as a weak friend that needs desperate help here and there."

Notably, India's requirement for military hardware is met by Russia. Following the Russia-led Ukraine war, India has rejected appeals from Western nations to limit its bilateral relations with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 February had announced that he is launching a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "de-Nazify" Ukraine.

(With inputs from Reuters.)