New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar responded to criticism of India’s stance on Ukraine today, stating that western countries have been blind to Asia’s pressing issues, such as last year’s events in Afghanistan and the ongoing pressure on the region’s rules-based order.
Mr Jaishankar said the crisis in Ukraine might be a “wake-up call” for Europe to look at what has been occurring in Asia, saying it has not been a “easy area” of the world for the last ten years, during an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue.
In response to a particular question about the situation in Ukraine from Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt, Mr Jaishankar said India has been calling for an immediate end to the bloodshed and a return to diplomacy and engagement.
“I think where the conflict in Ukraine is concerned, we have a very clear position that has been articulated. A position which emphasises the urgent cessation of fighting, which urges a return to diplomacy and dialogue which stresses the need for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states,” he said.
“You spoke about Ukraine. I remember, less than a year ago, what happened in Afghanistan where an entire civil society was thrown under the bus by the world,” he said.
“I would say quite honestly, all of us would like to find the right balance of our beliefs and interests, of our experience, and that is what all really try to do. It looks different from different parts of the world. The priorities are different and that’s quite natural,” he added.
The minister was responding to a series of questions from his counterparts from Norway and Luxembourg as well as by former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt on the Ukraine crisis.
“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,” Mr 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 said.
The external affairs minister said it is not that problems are going to happen and that the problems have been happening in Asia.
“This is not been an easy part of the world for the last decade and this is a part of the world where boundaries have not been settled, where terrorism is still practiced often sponsored by states,” he said.
“This is a part of the world where the rules-based order has been under continuous stress for more than a decade and I think it is important for the rest of the world, outside Asia to recognise that today,” Mr Jaishankar said.
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