NEW DELHI: Foreign minister S Jaishankar said US had deliberately chosen to become a “lonelier power”, while reiterating Russia’s longstanding support for India.“At a time when much of the world preferred backing a military regime next to us (Pakistan), Russia was a country with which our relations were very good, and we are shaped in many ways by that legacy,” he said at Munich Leaders Meeting here.He said India’s Russia-Ukraine conflict approach had moved beyond just the advocacy of dialogue, suggesting India might now be looking to actively mediate.
World today is marked by America’s radical repositioning and China’s rise, says Jaishankar
Both Moscow and Kyiv have said recently that India had come up with ideas and proposals to bring an end to the war. Unlike China and others that have looked to mediate, India had so far supported global peace efforts — advocating dialogue between the parties — but had not come up its own proposal, reflecting its emphasis on bilateral resolution of disputes.Offering a teaser on India’s proposal, Jaishankar said India is looking to address some immediate concerns that both Russia and Ukraine have on “grain exports, energy exports, non-attack possibilities”.“We would like to see an end to this conflict. This will require dialogue and diplomacy. We have been advocating it for many years, and in recent months we have got a little bit more involved beyond advocacy. We have conversations with both Russia and Ukraine in this regard. We are trying to be helpful, starting with the Black Sea safety of shipping issue,” said the minister, speaking at the Munich Leaders Meeting here.Jaishankar had said during his visit to Ukraine last month — shortly after PM Narendra Modi’s message to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the “endless war” — that India was discussing ideas that could be developed for cessation of hostilities.
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On Friday, while Putin announced Modi had very good ideas for peace, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said India had come up with the “broadest” peace proposal out of the four that it had received from other countries, including the US.This shift in India’s position seems driven by direct domestic fallout of the conflict, whether it’s commercial shipping disruptions in Black Sea or an intense blowback from US over India’s continued purchase of Russian crude.On US, Jaishankar said the world today was marked by a radical repositioning of the US, and also the rise of China.“The current system was significantly underwritten by the United States. That underwriting is diluting.” He underlined that the sharp competition between US and China was not limited to them alone. “It has led to weaponisation of any leverage that any country has. ”
