‘Unacceptable’, say MEA officials after envoys of U.K., France and Germany author anti-Putin article

Ahead of the arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a diplomatic incident erupted after the envoys of the United Kingdom, France and Germany jointly wrote an article in a daily newspaper on Monday, December 1, 2025, blaming Russia for the war in Ukraine and accusing Mr Putin of “complete disregard for human life”. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials described the article written by the three envoys as “unacceptable and unusual”.

Speaking about the article written by British High Commissioner Lindy Cameron, French Ambassador Thierry Mathou and German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann, one of the MEA’s senior officials said, “This is a very unusual situation. Giving advice to the public on third country relations is not an acceptable diplomatic practice. We have taken note of this.”

In the article titled ‘The world wants the Ukrainian war to end, but Russia does not seem serious about peace’, he accused Russia of starting a war against Ukraine and stated that Russia’s attacks were “a systematic choice made by Russia to continue its war of aggression with absolute ruthlessness.”

The three envoys accused Russia of engaging in “malicious global activity” through “cyber attacks and disinformation”; This shows that “the Russian leadership’s appetite for regional expansion and global destabilization extends far beyond Ukraine.” The article also took aim at Russian President Putin, saying he was “stalling and delaying” “serious peace talks.”

‘Violates diplomatic norms’

Earlier, former External Affairs Minister Kanwal Sibal had responded to the article and described it as “a public display with clear propaganda intent”. He said the article was “bad” and “violated diplomatic norms”. “This is interference in our internal affairs as the aim is to fuel anti-Russian sentiments in pro-European circles in India and question the morality of our ties with Russia,” Sibal said, urging the MEA to “publicly express its displeasure over the violation of diplomatic norms by the three envoys”.

Senior officials also said that India and Russia will sign a mobility agreement that will facilitate employment of large numbers of skilled and semi-skilled Indian workers in Russia. Russia faced a shortage of blue-collar workers following the conflict with Ukraine, which led citizens of neighboring countries to stay away from the Russian labor market.

An official said that the Indian side does not limit the number of workers that Russia wants to hire, as hiring workers depends on private companies, and added that India will meet the manpower demand from Russia.

The mobility issue will be discussed by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at a conclave organized by India’s World magazine and MEA on December 3, 2025. In addition to Mr. Jaishankar, German Ambassador Ackermann and Australian High Commissioner Philip Green will also speak at the conclave of cardinals.