Addressing a panel at the ongoing Munich Security Conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Jaishankar emphasized India's commitment to maintaining relationships with both the United States and Russia amid ongoing geopolitical challenges.
In response to inquiries about India's foreign policy objectives, particularly amidst perceptions of a transition from “non-alignment to multi-alignment,” Jaishankar said, “Is that a problem, why should that be a problem? If I am smart enough to have multiple options, you should be admiring me. Is that a problem for others? I don't think so, suddenly in this case.”
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As Jaishankar made the statement, Blinken was observed smiling. The moderator explicitly referenced India's ongoing procurement of crude oil from Russia despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine when posing the question.
EAM further added, “We try to explain what are the different pulls and pressures that countries have. it's very hard to have that unidimensional relationship.”
“I do not want you, even inadvertently, to give the impression that we are purely and unsentimentally transactional. We are not. We get along with people, we believe in things, we share things, but there are times when you are located in different places, different levels of development, different experiences, all of that gets into it,” Jaishankar added.
He added, “So life is complicated, life is differentiated. Good partners provide choices, smart partners take some of those choices.”
The Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2024 commenced on February 16 in the German capital and is scheduled to conclude on Sunday. The conference is taking place at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, as per an official announcement.
Earlier on Friday, Jaishankar initiated his activities on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference with discussions with United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Peru Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea. During the meeting, EAM Jaishankar and his British counterpart deliberated on bilateral cooperation between India and the UK, as well as global and regional matters.
(With inputs from agencies)
