New York, Jan 2 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that Europe has imported six times the fossil fuel energy from Russia than India has done since February 2022 and if a USD 60,000-per-capita society feels it needs to look after itself, “they should not expect a USD 2,000-per-capita society to take a hit.”
A New York Times report titled ‘Russia’s War Could Make It India’s World’ said that the “invasion of Ukraine, compounding the effects of the pandemic, has contributed to the ascent of a giant that defies easy alignment. It could be the decisive force in a changing global system.”
The report quoted Jaishankar as saying that a “world order which is still very, very deeply Western” is being hurried out of existence by the impact of the war in Ukraine, to be replaced by a world of “multi-alignment” where countries will choose their own “particular policies and preferences and interests.” “I would still like to see a more rules-based world. But when people start pressing you in the name of a rules-based order to give up, to compromise on what are very deep interests, at that stage I’m afraid it’s important to contest that and, if necessary, to call it out,” the NYT article quoted Jaishankar as saying.
He added that "since February, Europe has imported six times the fossil fuel energy from Russia that India has done. So if a USD 60,000-per-capita society feels it needs to look after itself, and I accept that as legitimate, they should not expect a USD 2,000-per-capita society to take a hit.” The NYT report said that could India, with its ties to Russia, mediate a cease-fire in Ukraine, or even a peace settlement. Noting that Jaishankar was skeptical on this, it quoted him as saying, “The parties involved have to reach a certain situation and a certain mind-set.” On when will the war end, Jaishankar said in the report “I wouldn’t even hazard an opinion.” The report noted that still, India wants to be a “bridge power” in the world birthed by the pandemic and by the war in Ukraine.
“It believes that the interconnectedness of today’s world outweighs the pull of fragmentation and makes a nonsense of talk of a renewed Cold War. If a period of disorder seems inevitable as Western power declines, it will most likely be tempered by economic interdependence, the Indian argument goes,” the NYT report said.
