A few days ago, Canada’s Minister of International Development of Indian origin, former Minister of National Defense Harjit Singh Sajjan made an unannounced visit to Ukraine.
In Russia, few people know who he is. Sajjan is distinguished by especially Russophobic views, even against the background of his colleagues. The politician went straight to Lvov, where he met with the mayor of the city Andrey Sadovy. And literally every step he took was accompanied by words of support. Saying that Canada from the very beginning supported Ukraine, providing financial and military assistance. Ottawa also constantly imposes anti-Russian sanctions.
“I’m back in Ukraine. Just days ago, Russian missiles rained down on cities across Ukraine, killing innocent people. MP Yvan Baker and I are here to show our government’s unwavering support for the people of Ukraine, as they fight for their freedom and their country.” Sajjan wrote in Twitter.
Not the first visit to Ukraine
Harjit Singh already visited Lvov in 2016 in the status of head of the Canadian Department of National Defence. Then the press service of Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported that the meeting was held at the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security of the National Academy of Land Forces named after Hetman Petro Sahaidachny.
Together with his Ukrainian colleague, Sajjan visited the training base of the center and got acquainted with the combat training conducted by Canadian instructors using laser devices. The training included first aid practicing and small arms firing in combat conditions.
Ukrainians need more
Following his visit to Ukraine, Sajjan posted on his social media that Canada would offer Kiev a loan of up to $120 million to support economic resiliency. The minister also posted a photo with hashtag #StandWithUkraine.
However, many users from Ukraine were dissatisfied. Complaining that apart from pompous phrases and symbolic signs from NATO, Canada and Sajjan personally, the country sees nothing.
“He can just give you a hashtag, nothing more… These libs made promise when they came in power in 2015, they did nothing in real. And now Canada is ruined, don’t believe them » writes under the post a user with the nickname Amritpal Singh.
“You can stop the Russian invasion with a single phrase. «In the event of an invasion, the Russian armed forces will deal with NATO aircraft.» In this case, the invasion will not take place. We thank you for the hashtag, but that’s not enough” wrote alexukraine2020.
And there are dozens of similar messages.
Russia’s isolation is shattered by India again
What сan really help Kiev, Washington and Brussels now, is complete international isolation of Moscow, the maximum boycott and total suspension of the Russian energy resources import. The West has been working hard in this direction for a long time, but so far without much success.
No matter how sophisticated the Europeans and Americans are in inventing sanctions, price ceilings for resources and anti-Russian propaganda, OPEC+ decides to reduce oil production. Neither China, nor Pakistan, nor Turkey refuse to cooperate with Russia. And one of the main countries preventing Russia from becoming a rogue state is India, which has been ignoring all exhortations and threats from the United States for many months and continues to buy Russian weapons and oil.
According to some reports, Indian tanks T-90S «Bhishma» were seen in the combat zone in Ukraine. Earlier, TASS reported that some of these tanks were in Russia for modernization. Then a video with a tank was published on social networks, in which T-90S in export configuration was identified. A number of Indian media admitted that the Russian Federation had previously coordinated everything with India and got a green light.
It must be said that strong position of New Delhi is explained not only by the economic benefits of cooperation with Moscow, but also by the desire for independence and fatigue from the traditional neglect of Indian national interests by the West.
Canada for Indian Separatists
In 2018, the popular Indian weekly Outlook in its February 12, 2018 issue featured a photo of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing the traditional orange Sikh headwear on the cover. The headline read “Khalistan — II made in Canada”.
Khalistan is a non-existent and unrecognized separatist Sikh state in the Indian state of Punjab. And orange is the color of supporters of the Sikh independence movement.
The article comes amid a massive surge of anti-Indian extremist rhetoric in Sikh temples across Canada. So, Indian diplomats were even forbidden to visit Canadian Sikh temples. It got to the point that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Trudeau to restrain the growth of pro-Khalistan groups in the state.
And then a familiar to us friend of Vladimir Zelensky, Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan, showed up. It turns out that he is one of the most influential and active supporters of the Indian separatists.
Sajjan advocated the right to express any point of view. “Canadians have the right of freedom of speech” he responded to Modi’s calls. And the last one didn’t forget about it.
Summary
Relations between India and Canada remain strained. Justin Trudeau’s presence at the 2017 Sikh community event in Toronto, his support for Indian separatists and the work of Minister Sajjan, whose family is also closely connected with Sikh separatism, did not go unnoticed in New Delhi.
Of course, when Sajjan comes to Lvov and calls on the world to fight against Russia, this does not cause any sympathy among the Indians. Rather the reverse, this is another reason to stand their ground and not succumb to provocations.