New citizenship law is a domestic matter of India, says Russia envoy

NEWDELHI:RUSSIA believes the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) is a domestic issue of India, though any issues related to it should be resolved through dialogue without any escalation of the situation, a senior Russian diplomat said on Monday

Roman Babushkin, the deputy chief of the Russian mission, told a news conference his country considers the Kashmir issue a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan that cannot be taken up at forums such as the UN Security Council

“We are not interfering and we are not commenting on (India’s internal issues) The CAA is a domestic policy of India and Russia has no comments on that,” Babushkin said in response to a question on the legislation, and a travel advisory issued by Russia following widespread protests against the law across India

“If there are any issues, they should be resolved based on dialogue and without any attempt to escalate it,” he said, referring to protests against the law which expedites Indian citizenship to non-muslim refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan

Russia, Babushkin said, is also against the Kashmir issue being taken up at the UN Security Council and this was reflected in his country’s position when China sought to initiate a discussion on the matter at a closeddoor meeting of the council on December 17 “The UN Security Council’s decision totally reflects the Russian approach to the issue,” he said