NEW DELHI, April 25, 2022 (AFP) – Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens India’s regional security, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday in New Delhi, whose government has been neutral in the conflict.

“The end of the war will not only determine the future of Europe, but will profoundly affect the Indo-Pacific region,” von der Leyen said at the annual geopolitical conference Raisina Dialogue, held in New Delhi. said.

“Russia and China have apparently signed a borderless agreement. […] They announced that their friendship was ‘unlimited’ […] What can we expect from the ‘new international relations’ they both want to establish?” he commented anxiously.

India is trying to strike a difficult balance between its relations with the West and its relations with Russia, which supplies most of its weapons and energy needs. So far, it has refrained from publicly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and participating in the UN votes on this issue.

After inaugurating a new special council aimed at boosting trade and technological cooperation between India and the European Union (EU), Von der Leyen noted that the bloc will seek to strengthen its ties with New Delhi over the next decade.

In 2021, India and the EU decided to restart negotiations on a free trade agreement that had been blocked since 2013 due to various differences.