Berlin, Sep 10: Underlining that the Ukraine conflict cannot be resolved on the battlefield, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine have to negotiate and if they want advice, India is always willing to give it.
Responding to questions at the Annual Ambassadors’ Conference of the German Foreign Office in Berlin, Jaishankar also said that India is not “closed to business from China”, but the issue is in which sectors the country does business with Beijing and on what terms.
On the Russia-Ukraine war, he said, “We don’t think this conflict is going to be resolved on the battlefield. At some stage, there’s going to be some negotiation. When there is a negotiation, the main parties – Russia and Ukraine – have to be at that negotiation.” His remarks came a day after he held a “useful conversation” with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the margins of the India-Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers’ meeting in the Saudi capital on Monday.
Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to Russia and Ukraine, he said the Indian leader has said in Moscow and Kyiv that this is not an era of war.
“We don’t think you’re going to get a solution out of the battlefield. We think you’ve got to negotiate… If you want advice, we are always willing to give it…,” he said, adding countries have differences, but conflicts are not a way to resolve them.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin named India among the three countries he is constantly in touch over the Ukraine conflict, saying they are sincerely making efforts to resolve it.
Speaking at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Putin said, “If there is a desire of Ukraine to carry on with the negotiations, I can do that.” (PTI)
