Dozens of student and activists from several organizations held a protest in New Delhi on Saturday demanding an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and pressing the Indian government to evacuate thousands of Indians, mostly students, stranded there.
They carried placards reading "Russia must end military aggression on Ukraine" and "Indian government must ensure safe return of trapped Indian citizens".
On Friday, India abstained from voting on a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that Russia cease its invasion of Ukraine.
Pratap Sen, a 20-year-old student, said India's decision to abstain from the Security Council vote was "perfectly justified".
"International politics is really like the wild, wild west. And India is in a peculiar position because they need to balance out their relations with USA and western countries and of course Russia, which has been a very close ally of India for decades."
Fellow student Dolan Samanta disagreed.
"I don't think it's a right thing at all because war anywhere has to be condemned, war by anybody has to be condemned," Samanta said.
India's decision to abstain from voting on the resolution does not mean support for Moscow, experts said, but reflects New Delhi's reliance on its Cold War ally for energy, weapons and support in conflicts with neighbors.
India on Friday regretted countries giving up the path of diplomacy but refrained from voting along with the United States on the resolution that would have meant altering its ties with Russia spanning over seven decades.
Russia vetoed the vote, and China and the United Arab Emirates also abstained.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday appealed for an "immediate cessation of violence."
Modi called for efforts to return to diplomacy, saying the "differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue."
