Johnson will not ‘lecture’ Modi over Russia stance during India trip
Boris Johnson will not “lecture” Narendra Modi about his unwillingness to condemn Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine during his trip to India this week, according to Number 10.
The Prime Minister will arrive in India tomorrow for a two-day visit, which will include a meeting with Modi in New Delhi to speak about strengthening economic and security partnerships between the two Commonwealth nations.
Modi has refused to outright condemn Putin for his war in Ukraine, due to India’s economic reliance on Russia, which has sparked criticism in many western countries.
Johnson’s official spokesman told journalists that the Prime Minister would not berate Modi about his stance, despite being one of the faces of the western response to the war.
“We want to continue to broaden the coalition of democratic countries in opposition to the invasion of Russia. Different countries face different challenges on how [dependent they are on Russia],” he said.
“We don’t think the right approach is to lecture other countries, because of the challenges leaders may face. It’s best to talk about the work being done globally and to talk about the alternatives.”
One senior minister told The Sun that the trip could turn into a disaster.
“Either Boris doesn’t raise it and looks pathetic or he does raise it and upsets his hosts,” they said.
“Either way it’s shaping up to be a disaster.”