Indians prefer quick end to Russia-Ukraine conflict: Report

A year on from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, western countries are agreed on staying the course for the long haul to help Ukrainians win but most Indians would prefer a quick end to hostilities, a new European think tank report based on a 15-country survey revealed on Wednesday.

The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) claims that decision-makers in the US and the EU may feel inclined to view countries such as India and Turkey as swing states that can be cajoled into siding with the West.

However, people in those countries see themselves very differently, as emerging great powers that may side with the West on some issues but not on others.

Overall, it finds that while the Russia-Ukraine conflict may have united the West, the gap with the rest of the world seems to have widened.

“Although significant numbers of European citizens still wish the war to cease as soon as possible, the poll appears to show a clear trend over the last year towards preferring Ukraine to win even if the conflict endures some time longer,” the ECFR analysis finds.

“In contrast, people in non-Western countries possess a clear preference for the war to end now – even if it means Ukraine having to give up territory… This desire to end the war soon is even stronger in Turkey (48 per cent) and India (54 per cent),” it notes.

On the issue of a new world order, most Indians are not inclined towards a western view of a bipolar world scenario in which they must pick one of two sides.

“In an increasingly fragmented and polarised world, countries such as India and Turkey appear attracted to free-floating sovereigntism – where every conflict between superpowers becomes an opportunity to assert one’s relevance and capacity to take sovereign decisions,” the analysis finds.

Respondents to the poll in India stand out in describing both the US (47 per cent) and Russia (51 per cent) as an “ally” – which is likely partly because, for them, China is either an “adversary” (39 per cent) or a “rival” (37 per cent).

Perceptions of the EU and Britain are also predominantly positive, with the Indian public viewing both countries as either an “ally” or “partner.” The ECFR analysis also found public opinion in urban India to be positive about the future.

Their main responses when asked to describe their country are that it is “rising” (35 per cent), “strong” (28 per cent), and “peaceful” (18 per cent).

Only a small proportion believe it is “declining” (8 per cent) or “weak” (7 per cent).

By way of comparison, 31 per cent of Americans and Britons characterise their own country as “declining”, the think tank found.

The global survey involved nearly 20,000 adults in nine European Union (EU) member states, the US, UK, China, Russia, Turkey and India between December 2022 and January 2023 and was a collaboration between the ECFR and Europe in a Changing World project of the Dahrendorf Programme at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)