New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has indicated that India is ready to consider playing the role of mediator to end the Russia-Ukraine war if approached, although he also said that New Delhi does not believe this. It is not that he himself should take any initiative on this matter. Jaishankar said in an interview with German economic newspaper ‘Handelsblatt’ that India’s energy suppliers in West Asia gave priority to providing petroleum products to Europe, which paid higher prices after the Ukraine war, and that New Delhi had access to Russian crude oil. No option left except purchase.
He said that just as India does not expect Europe to have the same perspective on China as New Delhi, Europe should also understand that India’s perspective on Russia cannot be the same as the European perspective. The External Affairs Minister said India has had ‘stable’ and ‘very friendly’ relations with Russia and Moscow has never harmed New Delhi’s interests. He said, ‘On the other hand, for example, our political and military relations with China are very complex.’
On India’s continued military cooperation with Russia despite the war in Ukraine, Jaishankar said it continues ‘because many western countries have for a long time chosen to supply to Pakistan and not to India.’ On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar said that India is ‘publicly committed to ending the conflict’. When asked if this is the reason why India can become a mediator, Jaishankar said, ‘In principle, yes. We have already helped on very specific issues. “Wherever we can help, we are happy to do so,” he said. Whenever we are contacted, we help with an open heart. However, we do not believe that we should start anything in this direction on our own.
Jaishankar fully justified the purchase of Russian crude oil by India, saying, ‘When the fighting in Ukraine started, Europe started taking a large part of its energy purchases from West Asia which till then was a source of energy for India and other countries. Was the main supplier for. He said, ‘What should we have done? In many cases, our West Asian suppliers preferred Europe because Europe offered higher prices. Now either we don’t have the energy because everything would go to them or we would have to pay a lot. “We kind of stabilized the energy market,” he said.
Europe is criticizing India, saying that the purchase of Russian crude oil is harming the effectiveness of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Jaishankar made this comment in response to a question asked in this regard. He argued that if no one had bought crude oil from Russia and everyone had bought it from other countries, prices in the energy market would have increased even more. He said, ‘Global inflation would have been very high and it would have become a major political issue in low-income countries.’
Jaishankar said, ‘If Europe had wanted to cause maximum damage (to Russia) at that time, then all economic relations with Russia would have been completely closed but this did not happen.’ He said that if principles were so important to Europe, why did it choose to end relations “gently”? He asked, ‘Why was pipeline gas an exception for some countries and other similar things? This is what governments do, they manage politics keeping in mind the impact on their people. Asked whether India wanted support from Europe over the border conflict with China in 2020, he said, ‘My point is this: Just as I don’t expect Europe to take the same view of China as I do. Europe should understand that my view of Russia cannot be the same as Europe’s view. He said, “Let’s accept that there are natural differences in relationships.”
When asked whether relations between India and Russia are a burden on relations between India and Europe, Jaishankar said that everyone establishes relations based on their past experiences. He said, ‘If I look at the history of India after independence, Russia never harmed our interests. The relations between powers like Europe, America, China or Japan with Russia… all have seen ups and downs. He said, ‘Our relationship with Russia has always been stable and very friendly and our relationship with Russia today is based on this experience. For others, things were different and struggles may have shaped those relationships.
Asked whether India has recently agreed to greater cooperation with Russia on arms matters and whether Russia is still the most important arms supplier to New Delhi, Jaishankar said, “In the context of ‘inventory’ ‘Yes’, it is because many western countries for a long time prefer to supply to Pakistan and not to India. “But that has changed in the last 10 or 15 years,” he said. For example, our new purchases with the US have diversified and the US, Russia, France and Israel are the main suppliers.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar, speaking at a conference on ‘India and Europe: Partners in Growth and Stability’ organized by CII, said that recent developments in the Red Sea highlight the fragility of existing connectivity and have highlighted the need to create multiple transport corridors with built-in flexibilities. Has strengthened. He highlighted India’s deepening ties with Europe and said the ambitious India-West Asia-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) will create significant opportunities for global economic growth.
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Tags: EAM S Jaishankar, russia ukraine war, S Jaishankar, ukraine war
first published : February 20, 2024, 23:53 IST
