External Affairs Minister Dr. Subramanyam Jaishankar has said that the world order needs to be replaced by a world of multi-alignment. In an interview with the Austrian publication Die Presse, the External Affairs Minister said, in this framework, the countries will choose their own particular policies, preferences and interests. Citing an example of India, Mr Jaishankar said, New Delhi rejected the pressures to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine and at the same time turned Moscow into its largest oil supplier.
Dr Jaishankar further reiterated that India is in no mood to cut ties with Russia, adding that Moscow supported New Delhi with weapons over decades of non-alignment, while the United States cosseted India’s arch-enemy, Pakistan.
Speaking about the conflict in Ukraine and echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words that today’s era is not of war, Dr Jaishankar called for both countries to resolve their differences at the negotiation table through dialogue and diplomacy.
