Europe-Russia narrative war plays out in Delhi ahead of Putin’s trip

India this week registered its displeasure after the British, French and German envoys published a joint op-ed in a national daily on Monday, 1 December, criticizing Russia’s actions in Ukraine ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit starting Thursday.

Senior officials told The Economic Times the move was “not normal diplomatic practice,” adding that a coordinated public commentary on India’s relations with a third country, in the days before a bilateral summit, was inappropriate.

According to unidentified officials cited in the report, New Delhi objected both to the timing and to the choice of forum.

The three diplomats, UK High Commissioner Lindy Cameron, France’s Thierry Mathou and Germany’s Philipp Ackermann, wrote a full-length commentary in the Times of India urging India to press for peace and calling out Moscow’s conduct in Ukraine.

In the article, titled “World wants the Ukraine war to end, but Russia doesn’t seem serious about peace,” the envoys accused Russia of escalating the conflict “through intensified air attacks even as peace initiatives were under way,” and of undermining global stability via airspace violations, cyberattacks and disinformation.

They acknowledged India’s ties with Russia, but said the invasion “cannot be ignored,” and stressed that their governments would stand by Kyiv. Their central argument was that Russia had shown through its behavior that it was not genuinely pursuing negotiations, while Europe remained committed to Ukrainian sovereignty.

That the op-ed appeared in the same week as Putin’s arrival, and was jointly signed by resident heads of mission, is seen in Delhi as highly unusual.

Officials said foreign-mission commentaries do surface occasionally, but coordinated pieces from multiple ambassadors criticizing a leader immediately before a bilateral engagement are almost unheard of in Delhi.

The article was viewed as an attempt to shape India’s diplomatic posture, and the MEA’s reaction was framed as a defense of independent foreign policy.

On Wednesday, 3 December, Russia’s ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, responded in the same newspaper with a piece titled “Europe’s 4 treacheries are impeding peace in Ukraine.”

Alipov rejected the Western characterization of Moscow’s intentions and turned the charge back on Europe, accusing the UK, France and Germany of fueling the war by supplying weapons, imposing sanctions, and backing Kyiv’s refusal to accept conditions Moscow considers essential to any settlement.

He dismissed Western references to international law as selective, argued that NATO expansion had provoked the conflict, and said Russia was open to negotiations if its security concerns were genuinely addressed.

Alipov’s op-ed also invoked India’s long-standing relationship with Russia, noting decades of cooperation in defense, nuclear energy and strategic technologies. He suggested Europe was using “alarmist rhetoric” to pressure Delhi, and praised India’s consistent stance of calling for dialogue without joining Western punitive measures.

Putin’s visit, expected to cover energy, defense and geopolitical coordination, now begins under sharper glare.