External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, known for clearly articulating India’s position on geopolitical issues, reacted sharply when an Australian journalist asked him whether New Delhi would agree with Canberra on its relations with Russia. Recognizes “anger”.
Dr Jaishankar was speaking to Sky News Australia’s Shari Markson in an interview during his recent visit. When Ms Markson asked him whether India recognized the “anger” Australia had caused because of its relations with Russia, he replied, “I don’t think we have given cause for any resentment whatsoever. To this day And in the era, there are no special relations between the countries.”
After this the minister compared Pakistan. He said, “If I had to use that argument, I would say that many countries have relations with Pakistan. Look how angry that makes me.”
After this, Dr. Jaishankar explained how India’s close relations with Russia are in the interest of the international community. Referring to Delhi’s decision to buy Russian oil despite the West and other countries sanctioning Moscow after the Ukraine war broke out, the minister said,
“If we had not taken the steps that we did, the energy markets would have taken a completely different turn and created a global energy crisis, which would have caused inflation around the world.”
He said India’s relations with Russia enable it to play a role in bringing the conflict to the negotiating table. “The fact that we have good relations with Russia allows us to be a country that has the ability to talk to both Russia and Ukraine and try to find some interconnectedness in those conversations. I think that What the world needs, including Australia, is a country that will help bring this conflict back to the conference table,” he said, adding, “Conflicts rarely end on the battlefield, more often than not they end in negotiations.”
Australia has supported Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and supplied arms to Kiev. When the conflict broke out in 2022, then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had said that Russia should be seen as a “pariah state” and that no country should have anything to do with them.
As the West imposed sanctions on Russia, India decided to continue buying oil from Moscow. This raised eyebrows and Dr Jaishankar responded to questions from the West regarding India’s decision. The former diplomat had then said sharply that Europe needs to get out of the mentality that Europe’s problems are the world’s problems but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems. He had said that India has the right to give priority to its energy needs. Later, speaking at the NDTV World Summit, Dr. Jaishankar had underlined that Moscow has never done anything to negatively impact India’s interests.
On the Ukraine conflict, the Narendra Modi government has refused to take sides, with the Prime Minister insisting this is not the era of war. The Prime Minister recently visited both Ukraine and Russia. He has said that India is not neutral but is in favor of peace.
