Russia variable in India-China equation

Moscow and Beijing are drifting closer because of their mutual interests.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s latest diplomatic flurry from Beijing to New Delhi and then to Islamabad, immediately after the virtual Quad summit and the United States-China meeting in Alaska, demonstrates Russia’s stakes and interests in both the Indo-Pacific region and India-China relations. The timing and intensity of these diplomatic engagements add more meaning to Russian endeavours and priorities. This also indicates India’s adjustment of relationships with the great powers amid the shifting dynamics among them.