So far, India has stopped short of outright condemnation of the Russian invasion.
India abstained on a UN resolution linked to Russia's Ukraine invasion for the second time in a week. On Sunday, India abstained on a UN Security Council resolution to call for a rare special emergency session of the UN General Assembly on Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
New Delhi also welcomed the decision of Moscow and Kyiv to hold talks on the Belarus border.
On Friday night, India abstained on a UNSC resolution to deplore Russia's aggression, with New Delhi saying dialogue is the only answer to settling difference and expressing "regret" that the path of diplomacy was given up.
So far, India has stopped short of outright condemnation of the Russian invasion. Why is India treading so cautiously on Ukraine?
Here are five reasons:
- For India, the Ukraine crisis has been a tightrope walk that has placed it under pressure from "old friend Russia and "new friends in the West".
- Russia is India's biggest supplier of defence weapons and has provided a ballistic missile submarine to India.
- India operates 272 Su 30 fighter jets made in Russia. It has eight Russian-made kilo class submarines and more than 1,300 Russian t-90 tanks.
- Despite US pressure, India has been firm on the purchase of the S-400 air defence system, Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile system. India signed a $5 billion deal with Russia in 2018 to buy the missile system.
- Russia has also stood by India at the UN security council on all issues, officials explain.
The US has also cranked up the pressure on India to commit to a stronger response against Russia.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, speaking to Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, had stressed on the importance of a "strong collective response" to condemn what America called Russia's "premeditated, unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine".
US, for India, has remained a key partner in defence, trade and technology.
America has also been a strong support to New Delhi in tensions with China. France has been an important friend of India too, at the UN.
India also has people-to-people ties with the US and Europe, and a vast number of overseas Indians in these regions.