NSG membership: Modi seeks Moscow route to China

TIL Desk/World/Beijing- Back from his visits to Washington, Geneva and Mexico City to lobby for India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now setting his sights east: asking Russia for help with the countries still holding out, even as he prepares to meet with President Vladmir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit later this month.

The outreach is particularly important as China continues to maintain that “NSG members remain divided” on the issue of membership, claiming that “many countries within the group share China’s stance.”  Officials expect a final decision may not come till the eve of the NSG meeting in South Korea on June 24, when the Prime Minister is expected to meet Mr. Xi at the Tashkent SCO meet that is also discussing India and Pakistan’s membership on June 23-24. He is also scheduled to meet Kazakh President Nazarbayev on the issue. Significantly, Mr Modi called up Mr. Putin on Saturday, wishing him on Russia’s national day and confirming the meeting at the SCO.

In a statement, the Kremlin said: “The discussion focused on practical issues of the two countries’ cooperation, including preparations for the top-level contacts to be held shortly.” While refusing to confirm whether “the practical issues” included India’s NSG membership, sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Russia was always “very supportive” of India’s NSG aspirations. But analysts say Mr Modi may be hopeful of more: that Russia will use its influence with countries like Kazakhstan and Turkey, who are not yet convinced to back India, and most importantly, as a bridge with China, which has taken a tough position.