India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have become the “voice of the world”, especially developing countries, in pushing for an early end to the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. He also said that Delhi has taken the “side” of the welfare of Indian citizens in the conflict and that India is among the countries with which all sides share their views.
“The Government of India has taken the side of the welfare of Indian citizens,” the foreign minister said on the Aaj Tak Agenda programme, responding to a question on which side New Delhi was supporting. Jaishankar said a large number of countries are pushing for an early end to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy as its impact is being felt on food, energy and fertilizer prices.
“I think today India and Prime Minister Modi have in a way become the voice of the world, especially the developing countries, because their (conflicts) are felt by the developing countries,” he said. Since the start of the Ukrainian conflict in February, Prime Minister Modi has spoken several times with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a telephone conversation with Zelensky on October 4, Modi said there could be “no military solution” and that India was ready to contribute to any peace effort.
In his bilateral meeting with Putin in Uzbekistan on September 16, Modi said “today’s era is not war” and urged the Russian leader to end the conflict. When asked whether India can become a peacemaker in ending the conflict, Jaishankar said he did not directly answer. “It’s hard to say anything at this point,” he said, but added that it would depend on the situation. “At least I can say that there are countries with which all parties share their views. We are among these countries,” he said.
Asked about India’s chairmanship of the G20, Jaishankar described it as a matter of pride and that the Center has the support of all states and other stakeholders. Asked about allegations by some opposition leaders that the government was promoting India’s chairmanship of the grouping, the external affairs minister said they had the right to express their opinion. At the same time, he added that “the G20 is not a matter of politics and it is not a matter of dispute”. “There is a feeling across the country that the success of the G-20 summit will be a matter of pride for all of us,” he said.
On the eastern border of Ladakh, he said there were some results after talks between the two sides. He said the results came due to the deployment of the Indian Army in the region after the escalation of tensions in 2020. Regarding relations with Pakistan, Jaishankar said cross-border terrorism should never be accepted as normal.
“Can you give one example where one neighbor is resorting to terrorism day and night against another neighbour,” he asked, making it clear that talks with Pakistan could not take place unless the country stopped cross-border terrorism against India.”We should never accept that any country has the right to support terrorism,” he said. When asked about the government’s views on India-Pakistan cricket ties and the requirement for cricketers to visit their country for certain tournaments, Jaishankar did not give a direct answer. “The tournaments keep coming. We’ll see,” he said.
