NEW DELHI: India is willing to do whatever it can to find a solution to the Ukraine crisis, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Auckland on Thursday. “In this situation, we would see what India can do, which obviously would be in the Indian interest, but also in the best interest of the world,” said Jaishankar while interacting with the CEO of Auckland Business Chamber, Simon Bridges.
The EAM also said that when it comes to Ukraine, it is natural that different countries and different regions would react a little differently. “People will view it from their viewpoint, their immediate interest, historical experiences, their insecurities. The diversities of the world which are quite evident will also naturally lead to a differential response and I would not disrespect the position of other countries as I can see that many of them are coming from their threat perception, their anxiety, their equities in Ukraine,’’ said Jaishankar.
India has stepped in whenever there was a request to raise issues that could prevent the conflict from scaling up. “When I was in the United Nations, the big concern at that time was the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant because there was some fighting going on in the very proximity to it. There was a request to us to press the Russians on that issue which we did. There have been other concerns at various points of time that either different countries have raised with us or the U.N. has raised with us. I think at this time whatever we can do, we will be willing to do,” he said.
Jaishankar also met New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Arden. “It was a pleasure to call on PM Arden. I conveyed personal greetings of PM Modi and also discussed deepening our bilateral ties through focussed engagement,” said the EAM. During the course of his interaction with his counterpart, Nanaia Mahuta, Jaishankar spoke about the hold-ups that have hampered plans of several Indian students who are struggling to reach New Zealand.