Putin signs defense deals with India, the United States not amused

In his eagerness to make more and more friends, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi treats all leaders on the same platform - and, in doing so, he is probably ruffling many feathers.
At this moment, Russian President Vladimir Putin is in India and has signed a number of defense and nuclear deals. But, the United States is not amused because one member of Putin’s team is Sergey Aksyonov, the Prime Minister of Crimea and Putin has earned a bad name because of his annexing of Crimea that once was a part of Ukraine.
This is a peculiar issue - the fact that Russia and India are concluding business ties, especially in the field of nuclear power when the US-India civilian nuclear deal is yet to attain fruition. It is bound to create complications. It may be recalled that the US had tried to isolate Putin for his invasion of Ukraine and a cold war is raging between the two super powers.
India does not support western sanctions against Russia for his actions in Ukraine, but it has also not approved the Russian annexation of Crimea either. Hence, the Prime Minister of Crimea in the team with Russian President has raised many eyebrows.
Anyway, New Delhi had indicated to Washington that it was not ''officially aware'' of Aksyonov's presence in the Putin delegation and, the US accepted that on face value but has asked for further clarifications. Incidentally, Petro Poroshenko has lashed out at India for entertaining the Crimean leader – in Petro’s words, India was placing more importance on money than values by welcoming the Aksyanov.
This incident could become an embarrassment when President Barack Obama visits India in late January to be chief guest at India's Republic Day parade – it is an occasion for New Delhi to showcase its military hardware, most of which is of Russian origin.