India's Communist Party Slams NATO, US Over U-Turn on 'No Eastward Expansion' in Europe

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has reiterated the stand taken by Russia about Ukraine being used by NATO for its expansionist policies.

India's communist party on Thursday slammed the expansionist policies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and said that Ukraine has become an "unfortunate theatre" of a war between Russia, the US and NATO.

The comments were made by Sitaram Yechury, general-secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), during a press conference in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. He was visiting Kashmir for his party's 12th state conference.

"We agree with Russia when it says that the war in Ukraine is actually a war between Russia, the US and NATO. Ukraine has become its unfortunate theatre," said Yechury, referring to Russia's ongoing military operation in Ukraine.

The CPI-M has also said NATO has gone back on promises it once made to the former USSR president, Mikhail Gorbachev, that there would be no eastward expansion of NATO.

Yechury also argued that, despite the fact that Georgia and Ukraine are not NATO members, "in both of these countries, NATO has developed a complete infrastructure. And today 175,000 NATO combat troops are posted on the ground near the Ukraine-Russia border even before the war."

Commenting on how to get out of the Ukrainian crisis, Yechury said that his party wants the crisis to be resolved through talks. However, he termed India's foreign policy of becoming subservient to interests of the United States.

"India is completely aligned with American foreign policy. The Modi government is involved in the American strategic and military alliances whether it's the QUAD or Indo-Pacific or regional joint military exercises or defence acquisitions – their relationship has been cemented," Yechury claimed.

He said India has been reduced to become a junior partner of the USA’s global strategic team.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February in an effort to de-Nazify the country.

So far India has abstained from voting in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) twice, and in the UN General Assembly once over resolutions regarding the Russian military operation. The steps included abstention from a UN resolution that attempted to label Russia the “aggressor” in the ongoing crisis.

The CPI-M also adopted a resolution in Srinagar targeting various of the policies propounded by the federal government, led by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

The party demanded an early hearing of a petition in the Indian Supreme Court challenging the withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir's special status in August 2019.

The party, in its resolution, also alleged that journalists in Kashmir working for "different media outlets face intimidation and harassment".

Weighing in on the ongoing discussion of a Bollywood film titled, 'Kashmir Files', the resolution stated "promoting Kashmir Files is an attempt to polarise the people further". The Bollywood film, which is about the migration of Kashmiri Pandit community because of the anti-India insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, has been promoted by several politicians of the BJP.