Prague: After Slovakia, India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar reached Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. From the next month, the Presidency of the European Union will be with the Czech Republic. Therefore, this visit of the Indian EAM to the Czech Republic becomes important. The EAM started his visit with a meeting with the lawmakers of the Czech parliament. EAM Jaishankar informed that discussions regarding Indo-Pacific, food and fuel security and digital technology were held.
The visit of the Indian EAM to Slovakia, followed by the Czech Republic, has become a topic of discussion on the global level. Foreign Minister Jaishankar gave a strongly worded response to the European countries criticising India’s stand regarding the Ukraine war. The United States and European countries are consistently targeting India not to adopt a stand against Russia and maintain cooperation with Russia even after the Ukraine war. The United States and European countries have expressed resentment over the continuing fuel cooperation between India and Russia. In response, the EAM Jaishankar defended that India’s decision aligned with its national interest.
Jaishankar reminded that European countries criticising India today have in the past chosen indifferent positions on issues in the Asian continent. The cognisance of his speech is being taken on the international level. In the editorial of Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese government has appreciated the statements of Jaishankar, which are seen as India’s response to the selfish policies of Europe. The Global Times has also said that India is giving a fitting reply to the European countries which have exerted pressure on India over the Ukraine war.
The Indian EAM had adopted an aggressive stand against China. India had sought cooperation from the western countries against China regarding the border dispute. EAM Jaishankar strongly emphasised that Western countries are incapable of negotiating any geopolitical issues in today’s context. This has been exhibited in escalating the Russia-Ukraine issue into a full-blown conflict. Cautioned by this, S Jaishankar said that India would independently manage any emerging issues with China. The Global Times has inferred from the statements of Jaishankar that India does not want to engage in a war against China.
EAM Jaishankar’s statements were directed to the European countries to emphasise India’s position in handling its problems with China. During the symposium in Slovakia, there was an indirect threat from the European countries to not support India in case of any conflict against China since India did not stand in support of Ukraine. EAM Jaishankar diplomatically responded to state India’s position to handle any challenge posed by China independently. However, the Global Times has added a convenient twist on Jaishankar’s statement.
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