NEW DELHI, 05 February 2022, (TON): As the Ukraine crisis involving US and Russia continued to escalate, New Delhi opted for siding with its decades-old partner, Moscow.

During a vote at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on whether to hold an official session to discuss the Ukraine crisis, India (along with Kenya and Gabon) did not support the US-led push for the meeting by abstaining.

Since nine positive votes were needed in the 15-member council to approve the meeting, India’s absence dealt a blow to the US efforts, according to a report published in Responsible Statecraft.

Far from being an isolated instance, this incident is part of a larger pattern in India’s actions that presents challenges to ‘American neo-primacy’.

India has just begun a two-year innings as a non-permanent member at the UNSC, where it was widely expected to work closely with the US-led coalition and take on China.

But matters have turned out rather differently. The latest UNSC vote comes on the heels of another, on climate security, in which India openly voted with Russia and against the United States.