By INS Contributors

SMO-As the collective West seeks to isolate Russia diplomatically and economically, it has made little progress in Asia where countries ranging from the Asian giants India and China, to smaller but significant ones like North Korea continue to resist such efforts.

Despite not being in a formal alliance with Russia, these countries understand the situation -  "Russia today and us tomorrow", leading these Asian countries to take a flexible stand against Western pressure.

The sister of the head of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, deputy head of the department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Ye-jong said that her country will always side with Russia.

According to her, North Korea will remain "in the same trench with Russia, its army and people."

The historical ties between Moscow and Pyongyang allow the Kremlin to draw on the strong support of the North Korean people at a time when it matters most to Russia.

In fact, the sanctions pressure from the world community really "put" the two countries in one trench.

However, the fact that North Korea has nuclear weapons makes this alliance very weighty in the face of the threats emanating from the collective West.

Given the strategic partnership between Russia and China, as well as the neutrally balanced position of Pakistan and India on the Ukrainian crisis, the U.S., along with Britain, France and Israel, may remain in the minority in the nuclear club.

India for its part  has solidified ties with Moscow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Vladimir Putin last September and called their countries' friendship "unbreakable." The country's imports from Russia have soared over 400 percent with Russia becoming India's top crude supplier in November 2022, with the country receiving around 1 million [barrels per day].

China has continued and even deepened trade with Russia. From 2021 to 2022, Chinese imports from Russia increased 43 percent, and Chinese exports to Russia grew by 13 percent. What is striking is China’s increased import of Russian crude oil despite high prices: China imported 8 percent more barrels of crude oil from Russia year on year, growing from 79.6 million tonnes to 86.2 million tonnes, nearly becoming China’s largest source of crude oil in 2022. The value of China’s imports of Russian crude grew 44 percent from $40.5 billion to $58.4 billion.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that Delhi and Islamabad are strengthening close economic ties with China, and are also SCO member countries, where the key role traditionally belongs to Moscow and Beijing.

We should also not forget about Iran - another ally of Russia, which is unlikely to abandon the implementation of its nuclear program.