‘Smart enough to have multiple options,’ Jaishankar hails India's diplomatic versatility, Antony Blinken smiles
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." Also Read: ‘India thinks US is weak, so strategically remains aligned with Russia’: Nikki Haley
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.
Also Read: Jaishankar to skip G20 Brazil meet amid clash of dates 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.
Also Read: S Jaishankar, Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly hold talks amid strained bilateral ties 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
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