Good time to get to grown-ups' table
Ukraine peace talks' on Tuesday in Riyadh. With the 'elephant' of Ukraine not in the room, frankly, the meeting was more about 'resumption' of US-Russia ties and Moscow's view of Europe's security architecture than ending the Russia-Ukraine war. The Riyadh meeting, and much of Donald Trump's statements on international relations, signal a direction of travel: an increasingly multipolar world with its separate spheres of influence (SoI).
India can't afford to heave a sigh of relief to see the US and Russia talking again. The change in dynamics calls for a different playbook, if India is to turn this into an opportunity.
SoI (2025 Remix), complicated by globalisation, will be shape-shifting. With Trump's imperium — Trumpirium, if you will — matching those of Putin and Xi, it'll be a play of alignment, adjustment and arbitrage.
Such a world can be unsettling for countries currently at the grown-ups' table (read: Europe). For those with some sitting privileges, it can be an opportunity. India must seize this moment not by rhetoric and nifty wordplay alone.
It needs to continue refashioning its engagement with small and big countries alike, as it has done with Gulf countries. It should strengthen its relationships with the likes of Japan, Australia, Britain, the EU and its member states, to present an alternative grouping.
This will require India to build its competencies, its 'as and when' diplomatic skills, especially when it comes to buttressing issues that provide for mutual benefit from cooperative action. Recognising that the world has, indeed, changed, New Delhi must keep getting back to the drawing board, if it really wants to have a say.
