External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that while Russia is a very important partner, India is against the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. He was speaking in the Lok Sabha regarding the crisis in Ukraine and it’s implications. The external Affairs Minister informed that the Prime Minister has spoken to the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine in this regard and said that ” if India can be of any assistance in this matter, we will be glad to contribute,”
India continues to press forcefully for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to violence and encourages talks including at the level of the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Jaishakar said. He also added that it was precisely the message conveyed to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov when he visited Delhi recently.
Dr Jaishankar underlined the key role of Russia in our defence sector by saying that “Russia is a very important partner in a variety of areas,” and “Our effort today is to stabilise economic transactions between India and Russia because this is very important for us”. He was talking with reference to the continued economic ties with Russia during these turbulent times when most of the significant democracies in the world have put sanctions in force against Russia.
The Indian government will put in efforts to meet “global demands for food, grains and other materials”, the EAM said while pointing out the fact that a crisis such as this can affect a lot of spheres of the economy like the energy and fertilisers sectors. Finance Ministry is leading an inter-Ministerial group to see ways for ensuring a smooth channel for transactions with Russia, the minister informed.
Dr S Jaishankar said that thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention where he talked to both the Russian President and the Ukrainian leadership to create a conducive environment for evacuation, safe evacuation of students from Kharkiv could be ensured. He also said that “No other country has carried out a similar operation. we flew out 90 evacuation flights,”
Dr Jaishankar conveyed India’s concern about the ongoing conflict. “We believe no solution can be arrived at by shedding blood and at the cost of innocent lives. In this day and age, dialogue and diplomacy are the right answers to any dispute and this should be borne in mind. If India has chosen a side — it is the side of peace and it is for an immediate end to violence. This is our principled stand and it has consistently guided our position in international forums and debates, including in the United Nations.”
