External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that Russia and Ukraine have to talk and if they want advice, India is always ready to give it. He underlined that the Ukraine conflict cannot be resolved on the battlefield.
Responding to questions at the German Foreign Ministry’s annual ambassadors’ conference in Berlin, Jaishankar said India has “not closed its doors to trade with China” but the issue is in which sectors and on what terms the country trades with Beijing.
‘The conflict will not be resolved on the battlefield’
On the Russia-Ukraine war, he said, “We do not think this conflict is going to be resolved on the battlefield. At some level, some negotiations will have to take place. Whenever there will be any negotiations, both sides, Russia and Ukraine, will have to be involved in it.” His remarks came a day after a “meaningful conversation” with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh on Monday.
‘You have to negotiate’
Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia and Ukraine, he said that PM Modi had said in Moscow and Kiev that ‘this is not the era of war’. He said, ‘We do not think you will be able to find any solution from the battlefield. We think you have to negotiate. If you want advice, we are always ready to give advice.’
‘Quad was a very successful experiment’
He said that there are differences among countries, but conflict is not the way to resolve them. Jaishankar also said that the Quad has been a very successful experiment. India is a member of the Quad group, which also includes the US, Japan and Australia. China has been constantly opposing the Quad. He said that India, the US, Japan and Australia, located at four different corners, decided to work together and thus we revived the Quad.
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