The situation in Ukraine has its roots in the post-Soviet politics, the expansion of NATO and the dynamics between Russia and Europe, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Paris on Tuesday, underscoring New Delhi’s balanced approach to the crisis regardless of multiple bids to influence its thinking.
In an interactive session at leading French think tank IFRI, he said the world today is in the midst of “multiple crises” and these developments have generated new challenges to the international order.
Asked to compare the Ukraine crisis with the situation in Taiwan, Jaishankar in a message to the Western powers said different problems have different histories, different contexts and players, and transposing the issues of one theatre to another can be misleading.
“Both are products of very complex histories of that particular region. In the case of Ukraine, a lot of it derives from the post-Soviet politics, the expansion of NATO, the dynamics between Russia and Europe, and Russia and the West broadly,” he said.
“I think, in the case of Taiwan, it is a product of what happened in Chinese history and what happened the way the Cold war and other developments played out in Asia,” he said.
Besides Ukraine and Taiwan issues, growing Indo-French partnership was the key focus of Jaishankar’s address. He described France as extremely responsive to India’s concerns and priorities and that it has a long history as a trusted partner
“How does India see France? Well succinctly put, I would say, as a major power with a global outlook and an independent mindset. One that is central to multipolarity and rebalancing. Equally important, one that is extremely responsive to India’s concerns and priorities. That has a long history as a trusted partner.”