External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that India is among few countries in the world that can 'engage' Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran given the ongoing war and geopolitical tensions.
He noted, that unlike the West and European nations, India has not sided with any country in the Ukraine-Russia war and has harped that the nation was "siding with peace".
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that India is among few countries in the world that can 'engage' Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran given the ongoing war and geopolitical tensions.
Jaishshankar was speaking at Business Today Mindrush 2025 where he reminded the audience that India's foreign policy approach is guided by the principle of "sabka saath, sabka vikaas."
According to India Today, Jaishankar reportedly said, "In the current polarised era, India is among a few nations that can engage Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran, the Quad and Brics. Sabka saath, sabka vikas apply equally to foreign policy as well."
He also noted, that "unlike the West and European nations, India has not sided with any country in the Ukraine-Russia war and has harped that the nation was siding with peace".
He further described that India has "balanced its strategic ties with both Iran and Israel amid the conflict in the Middle East that started with Hamas's surprise attack on the Jewish nation in 2023".
While Israel has emerged as a key defence supplier, India has relied on Iran for crude oil, he added.
He said, "We looked at the (Russia-Ukraine) conflict, the drivers of it, the larger environment, in a very objective way. A lot of other players understandably perhaps were carried away emotionally about it and that clouded their judgment."
Jaishankar addressing the ongoing tariff row in United States, with President Donald Trump reiterating that India's high tariff is making it difficult to maintain the trade relations, said that India would take an "India First" approach with "Viksit Bharat" as its goal.
"Today, the world is grappling with the reality of industrial policies, export controls and tariff wars... there is a widespread concern today about de-risking the global economy. The solution lies in more diversified manufacturing," he was quoted by India Today.
Jaishankar had also slammed the West for 'running down' India and 'building up' China.
"Building up China was, for a long time, a strategic objective of the West. Building them up as a society, praising their achievements, history. Running us (India) down was equally a strategic compulsion of the West," he stated.