Moscow has been New Delhi's all weather friend for 52 years, so the recent China-Russia engagement must make the MEA mandarins queasy specially as its new found friend, the United States of India, can often act like a temperamental mother-in-law.
Back in the 1950s when Russia was the centre of the Communist universe, even Mao Zedong paid unwilling tribute at the court of Emperor Stalin and wannabe emperor Khrushchev. These days, the ruler of the Kremlin seemingly plays courtier to the tyrant who rules China.
Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing on Tuesday for the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People.
IMAGE: Putin with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, October 17, 2023. Photograph: SputnikSergei Savostyanov/Pool via /Reuters
Photograph: Edgar Su/Reuters
IMAGE: Putin, Xi, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and other leaders (don't miss Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe adjusting his coat) gather for a photograph at the Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People, October 18, 2023. Photograph: Suo TakekumaPool via /Reuters
IMAGE: Xi, Putin, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Tokayev head for a photo session, October 18, 2023. Photograph: Suo TakekumaPool via /Reuters
IMAGE: Xi and Putin head for the photo session, October 18, 2023. Photograph: Suo TakekumaPool via /Reuters
IMAGE: Putin welcomed by Xi and his wife singer Peng Liyuan, October 17, 2023. Photograph: SputnikSergei Savostyanov/Pool via /Reuters
IMAGE: Vlad, what would Comrade Stalin think of this? One of his successors meekly traveling to Beijing to dance the Kalinka with Xi? Photograph: Parker SongPool via /Reuters
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Mahipal Soni/Rediff.com
