No double standards in dealing with terror: Sushma Swaraj warns international community

Moscow: Seeking strong global action against terror networks, India on Monday warned the international community that if it continues to adopt “double standards” in dealing with the menace there will be “serious consequences”. In her address at the Foreign Ministers meeting of RIC (Russia-India-China), External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the grouping must lead the world in fighting terrorism. Significantly, Swaraj’s remarks came after she raised with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, before the tilateral, the issue of China blocking India’s bid at the UN to have JeM chief and Pathankot terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar designated as terrorist. “India believes that the foremost challenge to international security continues to be posed by international terrorism. The RIC countries must lead the way in getting the international community together to counter terrorism through joint action, including at the UN,” Swaraj said. “We must not fail in this regard. If we continue to adopt double standards in dealing with terrorism it will have serious consequences not just for our own countries, but the international community as a whole,” she said. [caption id=“attachment_2558028” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. PTI[/caption] Her remarks come in the backdrop of China stopping UN sanctions committee from designating Azhar as terrorist, maintaining that the case “did not meet the requirements” of the Security Council. Talking about the UN Security Council reform, she said a greater urgency was required on the issue and sought support of Russia and China. “Let me also touch upon the issue of reform of UN Security Council, on which there has been some positive movement with a text being put for the first time on the table for inter-governmental negotiations. However, we need greater urgency on this issue. I seek the support of my Chinese and Russian colleagues for taking the IGN process forward,” she said. The External Affairs Minister said the slowdown of the global economy has created its own set of issues for economies of all the three countries and they must join hands in spurring growth. “As three large, emerging economies, we share similar approaches and could benefit from coordinating our positions,” Swaraj said. On BRICS, Swaraj said it is an important framework to boost economic growth. “We look forward to active participation of all members in the meetings of BRICS during our presidency this year. We hope to have a very successful BRICS Summit in Goa in October,” Swaraj said. “Let me end by re-emphasising the importance of RIC for consultations on regional and global issues of common concern. I look forward to our consultations today,” she said. Swaraj said RIC provided a good opportunity to our three influential countries to exchange views on how we could jointly contribute to international peace, security and development. The last ministerial meeting of RIC, that comprises the three emerging market economies with important influence at international and regional levels, took place last year.