Cold pragmatism requires India to stand with the West against Russia

It's clear that Vladimir Putin intends to seek Xi Jinping's protection, regardless of what friends such as India might think.

This was supposed to the week that Europe celebrated its blossoming relationship with the countries of the Indo-Pacific. Dozens of representatives from those two regions have gathered in Paris, where French President Emmanuel Macron hoped they could talk security and development without having the United States or China looking over their shoulders.

Unfortunately, this week is all about Eurasia, not the Indo-Pacific. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ensured that countries such as India and France aren’t talking about future infrastructure partnerships or how to manage China. Instead, they’re confronting hard questions about what they can actually do or say, together