External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, who recently gave the US its own dose over India’s stand on the Ukraine conflict, on Tuesday roasted the European nations questioning their muted response on some other important issues in the world like Afghanistan and the continuous pressure on the rules-based order in the region.
Jaishankar said the crisis in Ukraine could be a “wake-up call” for Europe to also look at what has been happening in Asia, saying it has not been an “easy part” of the world for the last 10 years. On the situation in Ukraine, Jaishankar said India has been pressing for an urgent cessation of fighting and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue.
“When rules-based order was challenged in Asia, the advice we got from Europe is – do more trade. At least we are not giving you that advice… We should find a way of returning to diplomacy and dialogue,” the minister said in response to a poser of Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.
“Quite candidly, we have been hearing for the last two months a lot of arguments from Europe saying things are happening in Europe and Asia should worry about it because this could happen in Asia,” Jaishankar said.
“Things have been happening in Asia for the last 10 years. Europe may not have looked at it. So this could be a wake-up call for Europe, not just in Europe, it could be a wake-up call for Europe to also look at Asia,” he added.
Jaishankar said the Russia-Ukraine conflict is a dominant issue, not alone in principle and values but also for its practical consequences. “People in Africa and Asia people are seeing the conflict play out in terms of higher energy prices, in terms of food inflation, in terms of disruptions of various kinds,” he said.
The minister reasoned that the truth is nobody wants to see this conflict. “There will be no winners out of this contest.” However, Jaishankar also empathised with the need to pay attention to “pressing issues in other parts of the world like Afghanistan”. “Which part of the rules-based order justified what the world did there (Afghanistan).”
As the conflict continues to prolong in Ukraine, India on several occasions has clarified its position on the issue. It has called for a cessation of violence and the return to diplomacy and dialogue.
