‘The sooner, the better’: Russia urges Bangladesh to ease tensions with India

Russia has urged Bangladesh to ease tensions with India as soon as possible, emphasising that stable relations between the two neighbours are crucial for regional stability.

Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh, Alexander Grigoryevich Khozin, also urged Dhaka to remember New Delhi's pivotal role in the country's independence in 1971.

"The sooner you reduce the tension... the better. Because, historically, since 1971, when Bangladesh gained independence, it was mostly because of Indian help. And Russia also supported this. Together, India, Bangladesh, and Russia have worked shoulder to shoulder," Khozin said.

Relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have deteriorated significantly since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year following a massive country-wide student protest. Hasina has been living in exile in India ever since her removal from office.

Although Bangladesh is set to conduct a general election in February under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, the country recently witnessed a fresh wave of protests following the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.

The Inqilab Mancha spokesperson died at a Singapore hospital on Thursday, days after he was shot in the head.

The protests and violence escalated further with the killing of a Hindu man, Dipu Chandra Das, who was lynched to death by a mob and his body set on fire over alleged blasphemy in Baluka in Mymensingh last week.

The Hindu population in Bangladesh has been affected by a series of incidents against minority communities in the country after the ouster of Hasina last year.