Improved Russia-China ties not only in India's interest but also global interest, says EAM Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that improved Russia-China ties are not only in Indian national interest but largely also in global interest.

Addressing a session during the Raisina Dialogue 2024 in the national capital, Jaishankar said, “On the one hand there are people who set up policies to bring the two nations together and then they say beware of the two coming together. It is certainly in Indian national interest but it is also in global interest.”

He said a lot of doors have been shut to Russia and Moscow is now turning to Asia or to parts of the world which are not West.

“A lot of doors have been shut to Russia and the West. Russia is turning more to Asia or to parts of the world which are not West. It makes sense to give Russia multiple options,” said Jaishankar.

He said If we railroad Russia to a single option, then you’re making it a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.

“Other countries especially in Asia need to engage Russia. Russia is a power with an enormous tradition of statecraft, and such powers would never put themselves into a single relationship of an overwhelming nature,” said Jaishankar.

Jaishankar’s comments come days after he reaffirmed India’s “stable and friendly ties” with Russia and said Moscow has never hurt the interests of New Delhi.

India-Russia ties have been under scrutiny since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, triggering weapons aid for Kyiv from the West, and financial sanctions by the United States and Europe, including those on the purchase of Russian crude oil.

When asked how India and China are shaping up economically, Jaishankar said that both the countries are rising but at a different pace with different starting points.

“Both (India and China) of us are rising, obviously at a different pace with different starting points. I think, the Chinese started off earlier much more intensively than we did. But it’s in the nature of things that at some stage everybody flattens out. So, there will be a period where they will be flattening out and we will be growing."

He said he’s not in denial of what the numbers suggest today but if one looks at Goldman Sachs predictions, both will really be, by about 2075 and up, a $50 trillion economy and plus, and will be too close to each other.

“Now, the international relations version of that issue would be, if both of us are moving vis a vis each other and vis a vis the world, how would we construct an equilibrium?,” he added.

Organised by independent think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Ministry of External Affairs, the Raisina Dialogue is a conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the international community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the conference on 21 February.

With inputs from agencies