 "EAM S Jaishankar -File Photo/AP")
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday delivered a firm message on terrorism at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Russia, stressing that the international community must adopt “zero tolerance” towards the threat in all its forms and manifestations.
“There can be no justification, no looking away, no whitewashing of terrorism,” he said, adding that India “has the right to defend its people against terrorism and will exercise it.”
This development comes after a massive blast at the Red Fort metro station in Delhi, in which 15 people lost their lives and many others were injured.
Reiterating New Delhi’s call for collective and uncompromising action, Jaishankar told SCO leaders that the fight against terrorism must remain a shared priority with no room for leniency.
“It is imperative that the world displays zero tolerance to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. There can be no justification, no looking away, no whitewashing of terrorism,” Jaishankar said.
The minister, who began a three-day visit to Russia with his arrival in Moscow earlier in the day, is attending the SCO Heads of State Council meeting and holding a series of high-level engagements ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s expected visit to New Delhi next month.
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View AllShortly after landing, he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for wide-ranging discussions covering bilateral, regional and global matters, including cooperation within the SCO, BRICS, the UN and the G20, according to Russia’s state-run TASS agency.
During the meeting, Jaishankar underlined the value of open conversations at a time of global turbulence.
“We will also be exchanging views on the complex global situation with the openness that has always characterised our ties,” he said, noting the Ukraine conflict, developments in the Middle East and the situation in Afghanistan as key areas of focus.
He added that India supports recent international efforts aimed at advancing peace.