MYSURU: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that India has tried to help out in the Russia-Ukraine conflict not because China did something but because the situation in Ukraine deserved that.
While speaking at an interactive session on the Foreign Policy of the Modi Government, EAM Jaishankar spoke on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and said that India has been trying to help out in the situation.
“The Chinese have put forward their thoughts as is their right. They have also made a contribution to whatever has happened between Saudi Arabia and Iran,” Jaishankar said.
The UAE downgraded relations with Iran after Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran following Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. The animosity between Iran and Saudi Arabia had previously threatened stability and security in the Gulf, and fuelled conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria.
However, in a significant breakthrough in March this year, Riyadh announced that it would re-establish ties with Tehran in a China-brokered deal, marking a change in years of hostility between the two nations. However, Jaishankar said, “It’s not a zero-sum game between us.”
Jaishankar further said, “I’m not competing with anyone. if I do something in Ukraine, I will not do it because China did something in Ukraine. I will do it because the situation in Ukraine deserves that.”
“The fact is, in different ways, we have tried to help out since the start of the conflict. In fact, Prime Minister Modi has been among the leaders in frequent touch with Presidents Putin and Zelensky. I have been in touch with my counterparts,” Jaishankar spoke on efforts made by India in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Jaishankar also said that India has supported others who are trying to take the lead.
“Today is a very complicated world. A lot of problems, a lot of volatility, a lot of uncertainty. A part of diplomacy is to develop a reputation as a stabilizing country, as a helpful country and as one with more friends and less adversaries,” Jaishankar said.
“(Suppose) I need 20 years of peace, but obviously I need peace on terms which are conducive to my national security. So that’s really the kind of direction,” Jaishankar said giving an example. (ANI)