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Jaishankar Questions Europe’s Commitment to Rules-Based Order, Accuses it of Hypocrisy

Indian EAM S. Jaishankar asked why the outrage that has been reserved for the Ukraine conflict was wholly absent following the hasty withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan last year.

April 27, 2022
Jaishankar Questions Europe’s Commitment to Rules-Based Order, Accuses it of Hypocrisy
Indian EAM Jaishankar said, “When rules-based order was being challenged in Asia, the advice we got from Europe was to do more trade. At least we are not giving you that advice.”
IMAGE SOURCE: NDTV

While speaking at an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar called out Europe’s hypocrisy for pressuring India to take a stand on the Ukraine war while remaining largely silent on the geopolitical and security challenges in Asia.

His remarks came in response to a question by Luxembourgian Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean Asselborn, who enquired about how Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov explained the Ukraine invasion during his visit to New Delhi in March. Jaishankar replied that Russian officials had previously said that the military operation was designed to “de-Nazify” Ukraine and “prevent the genocide of Russians.” 

Asselborn asserted that the invasion of Ukraine has violated the United Nations (UN) Charter and international law, to which Jaishankar retorted that only Russian officials can offer an explanation for the invasion. Furthermore, Jaishankar asked why India was being pushed to answer questions on Russia’s behalf, given that Russia has engaged with European officials far more than with India, both before and during the war.


India’s position on the Ukraine war:


That being said, Jaishankar asserted that he stands ready to justify India’s position on the Ukraine war or any other issue of regional or international relevance. He reiterated that New Delhi continues to call for all parties to cease hostilities and return to dialogue and diplomacy. He stressed that the conflict will have no winners.

“I recognise that today the conflict in Ukraine is the dominant issue, if not amongst the dominant issues, of the day,” the top Indian diplomat remarked. He pointed out that the issue has global relevance, “not just in terms of principles and values alone, but also the practical consequences of it,” referring to rising energy prices, food inflation, and other disruptions. 

 The Indian EAM asserted that he understands why his European colleagues have focused on the Ukraine conflict “to the exclusion of almost everything else” but noted that New Delhi is taking a more inclusive and well-rounded approach.

Citing the example of the hasty withdrawal of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces from Afghanistan, which he said had completely destroyed its civil society, he questioned, “What part of the rules-based order justified what the world did there?” 

Lashing out at the hypocrisy of Europe’s pressure on India to take a firmer stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar posited, “When rules-based order was being challenged in Asia, the advice we got from Europe was to do more trade. At least we are not giving you that advice.” Keeping this in mind, he urged his European counterparts to look at geopolitical concerns “in the right context.”

Like Luxembourg, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt also raised concern about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and enquired about India’s “role in defending free societies globally.” Jaishankar retorted that India’s position on the Ukraine war remains “fairly clear,” as it has repeatedly called for an “urgent cessation of fighting” and the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.

Along the same lines, former Swedish Prime Minister (PM) Carl Bildt warned Jaishankar that Russia’s acts in Ukraine could prospectively embolden China to “do things that are otherwise not allowed” in Asia.

Jaishankar, however, replied that his European colleagues have floated this argument on several occasions in the past two months. “Things have been happening in Asia for the last ten years. Now, Europe may not have looked at it, so this could be a wake-up call for Europe to also look at Asia,” Jaishankar opined.

In a veiled reference to India’s ongoing border conflicts with Pakistan and China, the EAM stated that there are several Asian countries whose “boundaries have not been settled” and are infamous for state-sponsored terrorism. To this end, Jaishankar underlined that the rules-based order in Asia had been under threat long before the Ukraine conflict.

Moreover, he declared that Europe’s campaign to pressure countries to call out Russia’s actions in Ukraine is hypocritical, especially when considering the absence of such outrage when Afghanistan was “thrown under the bus” last year.

Though India has previously raised “concern” about the Ukraine conflict and called for the respect of international law,  it has refused to describe the war as a Russian invasion or condemn Russia by name. New Delhi has also abstained from voting on resolutions in both the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and the UN Security Council that sought to condemn Russia’s military actions in Ukraine and called for a withdrawal of its troops. In fact, India has continued its trade relations with Russia by purchasing discounted oil and is even considering a Rupee-Ruble exchange mechanism to bypass sanctions against Russian financial institutions.