India belongs at the Eurasian Charter table, not on its signature page

Sujal Yadav, of the Russian and Central Asian studies centre at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, weighs the Eurasian Charter proposed by Russia and Belarus against Indian interests in a piece published by the Moscow journal on 14 October. Nine countries signed the charter's joint declaration in New York on 25 September, during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly: Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Myanmar, Russia, Tajikistan and Vietnam. India did not sign. The text provides for decisions by consensus and adoption at a leaders' summit before the end of 2027. Drafting is due to start at the Minsk Security Conference in November.

In the author's view, India already shares the charter's three core ideas: indivisible security, multipolarity and dialogue between civilisations. The joint statement of the 23rd India–Russia summit in December 2025 used the same language. The real risk is staying out: if China joins later, the text will have taken shape without reflecting Indian concerns. Yadav also recalls US pressure; in August 2025 Washington doubled tariffs on Indian goods over purchases of Russian oil.

Yadav sets out eight concrete proposals. He wants a clause barring any single regional power from setting the rules in Asia, a link between indivisible security and the principle of denying sanctuary to cross-border militants, and guarantees that the North–South Transport Corridor and the Chennai–Vladivostok maritime corridor stay open in times of tension. He suggests that India and Russia table a joint statement of principles before the first round. Belarus, in his view, should open the co-chairmanship to a non-founding country such as India, and New Delhi should send experts rather than ministers to keep its final decision open.