The Hindu : Russia to brief India on plans to join OIC

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 24, 2003

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Russia to brief India on plans to join OIC

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI SEPT. 23. India this week will get a first hand account from Russia of its surprising plans to join the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. The Russian special envoy, Veniamin Popov, to the Islamic world, will arrive here as part of Moscow's round of consultations with various countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh.

When he takes the podium at an OIC summit in Malaysia next month, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, will complete the first round of a curious charm offensive in the Muslim world. Mr. Putin is among four special invitees to the summit of the 57-nation OIC being hosted by the Malaysian President, Mahathir Mohammad. The other leaders are from South Africa, Ghana and the Philippines. Mr. Putin wants Russia to be part of the OIC. The summit in Malaysia is expected to discuss Russia's interest in joining the organisation at least as an observer.

New Delhi keeps a wary eye on the affairs of the OIC, which has the habit of passing gratuitous resolutions against India at the behest of Pakistan. The South Block is now closely tracking Russia's new interest in the OIC politics.

Why does Mr. Putin want to take Russia into the OIC, which has a reputation even within the Muslim world of being a toothless organisation? The assessment here is that the Russian leader sees an association with the OIC as a means of promoting its influence within a group of nations that traditionally maintained political distance from Moscow.

Russia's new-found enthusiasm for the OIC might be based on the calculation that joining the grouping would help reduce support from the Islamic world to the Muslim separatists in Chechnya waging a long and bloody war.

The OIC states generally endorse the territorial integrity of the member-states and Russian membership of the organisation could then wean away the external bases of support to the Chechen separatists. Under the influence of its South East Asian member-states, the OIC has in the recent past helped broker negotiations between the Philippines Government and the Moro separatists who believe in Islam.

Some analysts see more than Chechnya on Russia's mind. Moscow could be sensing a political opportunity to win new friends in the Muslim world that is seething with anti-American rage. Although Russia is no longer in geopolitical competition with the United States, states in key parts of the Islamic world are themselves looking for a diversification of ties and reduce their security dependence on the U.S.

One prime target of Mr. Putin's strategy is Saudi Arabia, which has come under immense political pressure from Washington since the terrorist attacks against the U.S. two years ago. It was not accidental that Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was in Moscow last week. As Saudi Arabia copes with a difficult challenge of internal reform and a changing regional scenario after the war in Iraq, it could certainly do with new allies. Russia and Saudi Arabia also have shared interests in the management of the international energy sector.

Russia is not a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) but is the world's second largest producer and exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia. Moscow has high stakes in maintaining reasonable prices for oil, which is one of its most important sources of hard currency. Russia is home to a large Muslim population even after the predominantly Islamic Central Asian Republics went their way after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. About 20 million people in Russia follow Islam, which is one of the four state religions.

After sounding out Dr. Mahathir about joining the OIC during his visit to Kuala Lumpur last month, Mr. Putin has appointed a special envoy to mobilise support among the member-states. There is apparently strong resistance apparently from Pakistan to Russia's entry into the OIC. Islamabad is worried that it could set a precedent for India joining the organisation. At an OIC summit last year in Sudan, an effort was made by Qatar to get India observer status. While India did get some support, the OIC had to drop the move following violent protests from Pakistan. Later reports suggested that the President, Pervez Musharraf, had threatened to pull Pakistan out of the OIC if India was allowed to join.

Dr. Mahathir's interest in promoting the Russian membership appears rooted in his conviction that it is possible to transform the moribund OIC into a credible political force on the international arena. He is responding to a sentiment within the Muslim world that wants a new agenda of economic modernisation and political relevance for the OIC.

India certainly hopes that Russia's entry would help nudge the OIC in a positive direction. In the mid-1990s, India itself had initiated a quiet engagement with the grouping. The economic and political content of India's relations with the Muslim nations of West Asia and North Africa have significantly increased since then. Despite Pakistan's relentless opposition, it is time to press for India's membership of the OIC.

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