Ukraine a 'Wake-Up Call' for Europe To Look at Conflicts in Asia: EAM Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that conflicts have also been occurring in Asia for the past decade.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Tuesday, 26 April, said that while Europe has been advising Asia to take view of the Russia-Ukraine war in the continent, conflicts have also been occurring in Asia for the past decade and that Europe should take note of them.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Raisina Dialogue)

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Tuesday, 26 April, said that while Europe has been advising Asia to take view of the Russia-Ukraine war in the continent, conflicts have also been occurring in Asia for the past decade and that Europe should take note of them.

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, a conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics which is conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, Jaishankar said, “Quite candidly, we have been hearing for the last two months, a lot of arguments from Europe saying things are happening in Europe and Asia should worry about it because this could happen in Asia."

"Things have been happening in Asia for the last 10 years. Europe may not have looked at it. So this could be a wake-up call for Europe, not just in Europe, it could be a wake-up call for Europe to also look at Asia.”

EAM Jaishankar

Various foreign dignitaries, including the foreign ministers of Poland and Norway, were present at the Delhi event.

Jaishankar further said at the Raisina Dialogue that Asia is 'not an easy' part of the world, and brought up the issues of fluctuating frontiers and terrorism in the continent.

“This is not been an easy part of the world for the last decade. This is a part of the world where boundaries have not been settled, where terrorism is still practised, often sponsored by states. This is a part of the world where the rules-based order has been under continuous stress for more than a decade and I think it is important for the rest of the world, outside Asia to recognise that today,” he said.

'Our Priorities Are Different': Jaishankar on Ukraine, Afganistan

To a question posed by Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt on the situation in Ukraine, Jaishankar said India has been pushing for an urgent cessation of fighting and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue.

“You spoke about Ukraine. I remember, less than a year ago, what happened in Afghanistan where an entire civil society was thrown under the bus by the world,” he said.

The Indian foreign minister also emphasised that priorities in different parts of the world vary. He added, “I would say, quite honestly, all of us would like to find the right balance of our beliefs and interests, of our experience, and that is what all really try to do. It looks different from different parts of the world. The priorities are different and that’s quite natural."