Will India-Russia relations complicate trade negotiations with US? S Jaishankar answers at HTLS 2025

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke about the recently-concluded India-Russia Summit and trade negotiations with the United States at the 23rd edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) on Saturday, December 6.

When asked if India's relations with Russia complicate trade negotiations with the US, S Jaishankar said, “I think everybody knows that India has relations with all the major countries of the world and I think for any country to expect to have a veto or say in how we develop our relations with others is not a reasonable proposition because remember, the others can expect the same.”

“So, I think we've always made it very clear that we have multiple relationships, we have a freedom of choice,” S Jaishankar said while speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) on Saturday.

Jaishankar's statement came a day after the 23rd Russia-India Summit was held on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin had arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for his first state visit to India since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, showcasing warming ties that angered the US and led to hefty trade tariffs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally received him at the airport.

'Generation of uncertainty'

Speaking at the event, S Jaishankar spoke about a "generation of uncertainty", saying that "many of the assumptions that we held just a few years ago, the key assumptions are all a question mark."

He elaborated, saying, "We had an assumption that globalisation is here to stay. It is, in a manner of speaking, but it is under severe challenge in many ways."

"We had an assumption that the United States would always be a stabiliser of the international system. I think that's a very questionable assumption," Jaishankar said.

He went on to say, "...we had an assumption, for example, that West Asia, the Middle East — those problems will never change. The landscape will never change. But it has undergone a radical change."

"We had an assumption that technology would be a great unifier. Technology could actually end up as a great fragmenter," Jaishankar said.

'Best way of dealing with tomorrow is...'

Highlighting several uncertainties in the geopolitical scenario, Jaishankar said, "The best way of dealing with tomorrow, I would say, is capability, capability and capability."

“If you have the capability, you can handle contingencies because there will be contingencies. There will be unforeseen circumstances,” he said.

Is Sheikh Hasina welcome to stay in India? Jaishankar reacts

When asked about pressure from Dhaka to extradite former prime minister Sheikh Hasina after she was sentenced to death, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the final decision will be up to the Awami League leader.

“She came under different circumstances, and now the circumstances are different. It is up to her to decide,” said EAM Jaishankar at the 23rd Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

Sheikh Hasina fled to India and has been living in exile since August 2024 after student-led protests led to the fall of the government in Bangladesh.

Earlier this year, a tribunal court in Dhaka sentenced Hasina and her former interior minister with a death penalty for “crimes against humanity” during the student movement.

Jaishankar on India's renewed ties with China

Jaishankar said that after October 2024, when the Kazhan meeting happened between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi, "since then, by and large, border areas have remained stable."

He said, "Patrolling has mostly resumed and is taking place normally. Peace and tranquillity on the border areas is a key requisite to have good relationships…It is being maintained and is being built upon."

The EAM's remarks came after a key visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China for the SCO Summit 2025.