India has firmly rejected a request from the United States to ban the Russian state media network RT, emphasizing its commitment to an independent foreign policy and refusal to adhere to unilateral sanctions not sanctioned by the United Nations. This stance was reaffirmed following discussions between U.S. officials and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, where Indian officials stated that the matter was not relevant to India.

The U.S. has been intensifying its efforts against RT, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken accusing the network of being a "de facto arm of Russian intelligence" and urging allies to treat its activities as intelligence operations within their borders. Despite these pressures, Indian diplomats have maintained that India does not follow unilateral sanctions and will continue to engage with Russia as part of its long-standing bilateral relations.


On Friday (September 13, 2024), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced further sanctions against RT, claiming the media organisation, that has offices around the world including in India, was the “de facto arm of Russia’s intelligence apparatus”. RT and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have denied the charge. In an official response, a senior RT editor accused the U.S. government of “paranoia” and “being terrified of any truly dissenting voice”.

The U.S. State department said it had launched a “joint diplomatic campaign” along with the United Kingdom and Canada to “rally allies and partners around the world to join us in addressing the threat posed by RT and other machinery of Russian disinformation and covert influence”.

“We urge every ally, every partner to start by treating RT’s activities as they do other intelligence activities by Russia within their borders,” Mr. Blinken said.

Former Indian Ambassador to Russia and France Kanwal Sibal said the U.S.’s actions to curtail and censor Russian media organisations damaged America’s “own values”, even as the U.S. government said it supports freedom of speech.

“This will be viewed as double standards by the Global South that they are trying to target. India will obviously not be responsive to such American pressure,“ said Mr. Sibal, who has contributed columns for the RT’s RT.com website.

The Ministry declined to comment despite a number of requests. An official said that the matter “does not pertain” to India and pointed out that India does not follow unilateral sanctions that are not approved by the United Nations. This is not the first time that the government has been caught in the U.S.-Russia crossfire over sanctions, such as those over oil imports from Russia, which India has rejected. Last month, however, government officials also censured Russian agencies RT and Sputnik for what they called “misleading” reporting on alleged Indian intelligence “concerns” about U.S. diplomats based in India meeting with Indian Opposition leaders, citing Bangladesh as an example of the U.S.’s “regime change operations” .

The request from the U.S. on sanctions came as U.S. Assistant Secretary Donald Lu was visiting Delhi for a number of high-level meetings to prepare for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S., and participation in the Quad Summit hosted by U.S. President Joseph Biden on September 21. The U.S. Embassy declined to comment on whether Mr. Lu had raised the issue during his visit.

This decision comes in the context of broader actions against Russian media, including a recent ban imposed by Meta on RT and other Russian state media outlets for alleged foreign interference activities. However, India's refusal highlights its strategic autonomy in foreign policy matters, particularly in relation to its historical ties with Russia.

Agencies