On West Asia

DURING his visit to Jordan, President Pranab Mukherjee made significant comments on West Asia, which were evidently the views of the Indian Government. On Iraq, he stated that India was committed to non-interference in internal affairs of other countries, a continuation of the Nehruvian policy of dynamic neutrality. He echoed Mahatma Gadhi’s view that Palestine belonged to the Arabs as England did to the English and France to the French. It has been traditional Indian policy. But it should not be extended to persistent Hama-Israeli clashes in the Gaza strip and the Western Bank of Jordan. Recently Delhi has established diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv. The two countries look to economic collaboration and India is interested in receiving defence equipment from Israel. The new emphasis should be on equidistance without compromising India’s long standing amity with the PLO. Syria is a thorny issue. India and Jordan resolved that the Geneva 1 consensus which accorded a role to both the Assad regime and the opposition in forming a transitional goverment should defuse the Syrian crisis. But if India sees Russian intervention and air strikes as directed towards controlling the IS, the US will not be happy. Russia backs the Assad regime and had previously vetoed UN intervention in Syria. It is doubtful if Russia will act according to the Geneva 1 consensus. India’s tacit support to Russian air strikes may not be in line with President Pranab Mukherjee’s advocacy of the Geneva 1 consensus for the resolution of the prolonged Syrian crisis causing death and destruction.