"Russia Is Turing More To...Not West": S Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister of India, S Jaishankar said Russia is turning towards Asia. He said Russia is a power with an enormous tradition of statecraft and it is turning towards Asia or the non-West part of the world. The MEA made the comment while talking about the current geopolitical developments and their fall outs.
During an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar said it makes sense to give Russia multiple options. While answering to the question of Russia’s growing proximity with Beijing, the minister said railroading the options given to Russia into a single option and criticising it for that would be like a “self-fulfilling prophecy”. He said it is important for other countries, especially the Asian countries to engage with Russia.
He said, “Russia is a power with an enormous tradition of statecraft. Such powers would never put themselves into a single relationship of an overwhelming nature. It would go against their grain”.
When asked to comment on the intensification of ties between Russia and China and whether India was uncomfortable with it, the minister said that a lot of doors have been shut to Russia, which is why the country is turning more to Asia or other parts that are not West.
He commented that the policies of West are bringing Moscow closer to Beijing. He said, “it is kind of funny — on the one hand you have people who set policies (and) bring the two together and then you say beware of them coming together”.
The comments came days after the MEA said that India shares a “stable” and “very friendly” relationship with Russia.
India’s relation with Russia remained intact despite Moscow’s invasion on Ukraine and the wrath of West on it. Instead of condemning Moscow on Ukraine issue, India stood firm on the stance that the issue must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. The import of Russian crude oil to India has significantly gone up despite the disquiet that has been increasing over it in many Western countries.
