JOIN USIndia on side of peace in Russia-Ukraine conflict: Jaishankar in UNGA
Expressing concerns over crises of food, fuel and fertilizers caused by the conflict, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that India is on the side of peace in the Russia-Ukraine war and will remain firmly there.
He also tacitly hit out at China for shielding terrorists based in Pakistan from United Nations sanctions.
“The United Nations responds to terrorism by sanctioning its perpetrators. Those who politicize the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime, sometimes even to the extent of defending proclaimed terrorists, they do so at their own peril. Believe me, they advance neither their own interests nor indeed their reputation,” Jaishankar said, adding, “Having borne the brunt of cross-border terrorism for decades, India firmly advocates a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach.”
“As the Ukraine conflict continues to rage, we are often asked whose side we are on. And, our answer, each time, is straight and honest. India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there,” the External Affairs Minister said. '' We are on the side that respects the UN Charter and its founding principles," he added.
He represented the Government of India in the high-level segment of the UNGA general debate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not travel to New York this year to attend the 77th session of the UNGA.
Jaishankar reiterated New Delhi’s call for dialogue and diplomacy, stating that it was the only way out to end the conflict. “We are on the side of those struggling to make ends meet, even as they stare at the escalating costs of food, fuel and fertilizers.”
He and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York just before they both addressed the UNGA.
New Delhi over the past few months drew flak from the US and the other western nations, not only for refusing to join them in condemning Russia for its aggression against Ukraine – primarily in view of its decades-old strategic partnership with and its dependence on the former Soviet Union nation for military hardware. India is also circumventing sanctions imposed by the US and the other western nations on Russia and continuing bilateral trade. It also increased oil and coal imports from Russia.
Modi recently held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sideline of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at Samarkand in Uzbekistan. “Today’s era is not of war”, the Prime Minister told the Russian President during the meeting.
The Prime Minister’s appeal to the Russian President was hailed by the media and the governments in the western nations.
“We believe and advocate that this is not an era of war or of conflict. On the contrary, it is a time for development and for cooperation,” Jaishankar reiterated, addressing the UNGA on Saturday.
He referred to India’s supply of Covid-19 vaccines and its development assistance to other nations.
“Even as we meet our own development targets, India offers partnerships to our brothers and sisters in Asia, Africa and Latin America. And we do so, based on their needs and their priorities,” he said, tacitly underlining the difference between the development assistance extended by New Delhi and Beijing to other nations.
China has been criticised for its predatory lending practices which put several smaller nations in debt traps.