European Ministers gathered for the Ministry of External Affairs’ Raisina Dialogue here urged India to reconsider trade and ties with Russia, and to press the case for Ukraine’s sovereignty ahead of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that falls on February 24. The ministers, that made up a large majority, numbering 15 of the 21 Foreign Ministers speaking at the annual conference, have been meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar separately since Wednesday, as well as during a lunch hosted by him for some of them for the India-Nordic-Baltic forum on Thursday. In particular, they urged India to join a “Peace Conference” in Switzerland, set to be held shortly, at the request of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to sources, Mr. Jaishankar also discussed this with the Swiss Foreign Minister recently.
“What we have been arguing is that the war of Russia in Ukraine is not only about Ukraine, but also about one country violating the sovereign borders of another country, and that undermines international law and the UN Charter,” Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš told The Hindu after the lunch meeting. “We think that as European countries and India, as democracies, what we have inherently in common is the understanding that the rule of law must be upheld,” he added, urging New Delhi to express more support for Ukraine, where tens of thousands are believed to have been killed, and more than 14 million people displaced (of which 6 million live as refugees outside the country).
Since February 2022, the Modi government has abstained from all United Nations resolutions on Ukraine, maintained ties with Russia while sending aid to Ukraine, and has increased India’s intake of Russian oil multi-fold, making it the source for a third of India’s oil imports.
