News Brief
India 'Smart Enough' To Have Multiple Options: Jaishankar Responds To Russia Ties Question, Blinken Smiles
Kuldeep Negi
Feb 18, 2024, 09:52 AM | Updated 09:54 AM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, defended India's foreign policy choices at a security conference in Munich, Germany.
His remarks came at an interactive session on Saturday (17 February) at the Munich security conference in the presence of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
In response to a question on India's foreign policy priorities in the backdrop of observations that it is traversing from "non-alignment to all alignment", Jaishankar asserted that India should not be criticised for having multiple options.
The moderator also mentioned India's oil purchases from Russia despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"Why should it be a problem? I am smart enough to have multiple options. You should be admiring and not criticising. Is it a problem for others? I do not think so," he said.
Antony Blinken was seen smiling as J Jaishankar made the statement.
He emphasised that India maintains strong relations with Western countries despite its independent choices.
"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," he explained.
"So life is complicated, life is differentiated," he said.
"Good partners provide choices, smart partners take some of those choices" Jaishankar said.
He said that India is non-west but not against the western countries.
"I think it is important today to make a distinction between being non-West and anti-West. I would certainly characterise India as a country which is non-West but which has extremely strong relations with the Western countries that is getting better by the day," he added.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Kuldeep is Senior Editor (Newsroom) at Swarajya. He tweets at @kaydnegi.
Introducing ElectionsHQ + 50 Ground Reports Project
The 2024 elections might seem easy to guess, but there are some important questions that shouldn't be missed.
Do freebies still sway voters? Do people prioritise infrastructure when voting? How will Punjab vote?
The answers to these questions provide great insights into where we, as a country, are headed in the years to come.
Swarajya is starting a project with an aim to do 50 solid ground stories and a smart commentary service on WhatsApp, a one-of-a-kind. We'd love your support during this election season.
Click below to contribute.