'We stand for peace': Jaishankar briefs Rajya Sabha on Ukraine war

Categories: NEWS OF INDIA

                        External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday told the Rajya Sabha that India`s stand on the Russia-Ukraine war is based on six principles.Responding to a question, he said that India has called for immediate cessation of violence and end to all hostilities. "We stand for peace, we believe that there is no other way than a return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy. We recognize that the global order is anchored on international law, UN charter and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states and we call for humanitarian access to a conflict situation."

                       Jaishankar also said that the Government of India is in touch with the leadership of both the Russian Federation and Ukraine on this matter. "The Prime Minister himself has spoken with the Presidents of both the countries. This was also mentioned in a statement made before the House recently," he added.Replying to the query of Gujral on crude oil import, he said, "we import less than one per cent of crude oil from Russia. Many western countries are importing 15 to 20 times more than what we import."

                       To a follow-up question about the growing relations between Russia and China, Jaishankar said, the government is aware of the changes in international relations. "We monitor it, we obviously assess it from our own national perspective and fashion our strategy in accordance with those developments," he said.Jaishankar also informed the House that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Vladimir Putin thrice and to Volodymyr Zelensky twice, the evacuations of Indians was the priority, but the major part of the conversations was on what we could do to encourage a cessation of hostility through the dialogue and diplomacy.