Russia is one of India’s longest-serving partners. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union signed a treaty of Friendship with India, which ultimately became the foundation of the relationship between both countries. After decades of trade and cultural exchange, a sense of camaraderie has developed between the citizens of both nations.

However, Russia’s recent actions have raised eyebrows. First of which is the acknowledgement that US President Donald Trump played a personal and pivotal role in negotiating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, a claim that India has vehemently denied.

The second action is a bit more complex and is rolled up in history, international relations and regional tensions. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, now twice in a matter of weeks, has indicated that Russia is ‘genuinely’ interested in reviving the RIC (Russia-India-China) under the Troika format.

The Kremlin’s public endorsement of Trump’s assertion that he personally brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor has landed a discordant note in New Delhi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide, Yury Ushakov, stated that the India-Pakistan conflict was resolved through Trump’s “personal involvement", a claim repeatedly echoed by Trump himself, who even suggested he averted a nuclear disaster by leveraging US trade access as a bargaining tool.

India, however, has consistently and vehemently denied any third-party mediation. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar firmly rejected these claims, clarifying that the cessation of hostilities on 10 May occurred through direct communication via a hotline, initiated by the Pakistani army.

Similarly, Shashi Tharoor, leading an all-party delegation to the US, unequivocally stated that India had “never particularly wanted to ask anyone to mediate," stressing that........

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