India minister blasts Europe for linking Ukraine stance to China
JAISHANKAR SAYS DELHI CAN TACKLE BEIJING AS HE DEFENDS INDIA’S POSITION ON WAR
INDIA has a difficult relationship with China, but it is “perfectly capable of managing it”, foreign minister S Jaishankar said last Friday (3) as he rejected a European narrative to link global support for New Delhi over its position on Ukraine and India’s relationship with Beijing.
Jaishankar also said Europe had to grow out of the mindset that its problems are the world’s problems, but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems.
He was speaking in the Slovakian capital Bratislava, where he attended a conference last week.
The minister’s comments came amid efforts by the European countries to try and persuade India to take a tough position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine with their argument that New Delhi may face a similar challenge from China in the future.
Jaishankar said the “Chinese do not need a precedent somewhere else on how to engage us or not engage us or be difficult with us or not be difficult with us.
“In terms of the connection you are making, we have a difficult relationship with China and we are perfectly capable of managing it. If I get global understanding and support, obviously it is of help to me. But this idea that I do a transaction – I come in one conflict because it will help me in conflict two. That’s not how the world works.
“A lot of our problems in China have nothing to do with Ukraine and have nothing to do with Russia. They are predated.”
Jaishankar was asked why he thought anyone would help New Delhi in case of a problem with China after its neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Somewhere Europe has to grow out of the mindset that Europe’s problems are the world’s problems but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems. That if it is you, it’s yours, if it is me, it is ours. I see reflections of that,” he said.
“There is a linkage today which is being made. A linkage between China and India and what’s happening in Ukraine. China and India happened way before anything happened in Ukraine.”
Jaishankar noted Europe was silent on many developments in Asia. “If I were to take Europe collectively which has been singularly silent on many things which were happening, for example in Asia, you could ask why would anybody in Asia trust Europe on anything at all,” he said.
He added India condemned the killings in Bucha in Ukraine and sought an investigation into the massacre. “First of all you are mischaracterising our position; for example, when Bucha happened, we condemned Bucha and we actually asked for an investigation into Bucha,” he said.
“In terms of what is happening with the Ukraine conflict, our position is very clear that we favour an immediate cessation of hostilities. It’s not that we have ignored it unless you call phone calls to (Russia president Vladimir) Putin and (Ukraine president Volodymyr) Zelenskyy as ignoring something,” he added.
Prime minister Narendra Modi has had phone conversations with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders on the conflict.