Russia-Ukraine War: S Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, stated that while New Delhi does not think it should take the lead, it is willing to mediate to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine if asked. In an interview with the German financial daily Handelsblatt, Jaishankar stated that after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, India’s Middle Eastern energy suppliers prioritised supplying petroleum products to Europe at a premium.
India on Russia-Ukraine War
“When the fighting started in Ukraine, Europe shifted a large part of its energy procurement to the Middle East -until then the main supplier for India and other countries,” Jaishankar explained.
How ought we to have responded? Since Europe paid higher prices, our Middle Eastern suppliers frequently preferred that region. Since everything would have gone to them, we wouldn’t have had any energy. Alternatively, we would have paid significantly more due to your higher payment,” he continued. We stabilised the energy market in a sense that way,” he added.
When questioned about criticism from Europe levelled at India—that the country’s purchases of Russian crude oil undermine the Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine—he gave this response. The External Affairs Minister argued that Europe should realise that India cannot have the same perspective on Russia as Europe does, just as India did not expect Europe to maintain a stance on China similar to New Delhi’s.
Jaishankar stated that despite Moscow’s military aggression in Ukraine, India increased its economic ties with Russia. He added that the two countries’ relations are still “stable and friendly”, and Russia has never infringed upon India’s interests. Russia has never harmed our interests, based on India’s post-independence history. He said there have been ups and downs in the relationships between Russia and the US, Europe, China, and Japan.
“The current relationship with Moscow is based on a stable and always amicable relationship with Russia,” he stated. “We, on the other hand, had a politically and militarily much more difficult relationship with China, for example,” he added.
As stated by Jaishankar, India is “deeply convinced and committed to bringing the war in Ukraine to an end”. “The conflict is hurting everyone. We’re not far enough along in the process to know exactly how it will end, so I’m not sure,” he remarked. Regarding Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, Jaishankar stated that India and Russia continue to cooperate militarily “because many Western countries have long preferred to supply Pakistan and not India.”
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